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submitted 9 months ago by vind@lemmy.world to c/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone

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[-] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 23 points 9 months ago

Still not advisable..... You receive an invoice after services are rendered, not beforehand. Presenting an invoice for services not previously agreed upon would still be fraud, and unless the company personally wrote you a check, it's either mail fraud or wire fraud.

So you have similar/more legal risks as a bank robber, but you're doing it for petty cash?

[-] workerONE@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago

You should be able to send a letter that serves as a contract, and include an invoice to pay to start the contract. Then legally it would rely on the type of service you offer, but as far as invoicing before service starts that's not legally a problem. They used to mail out magazine subscription offers, you would mail in a check and then your subscription would start.

[-] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 1 points 9 months ago

You should be able to send a letter that serves as a contract, and include an invoice to pay to start the contract.

Yeah, but including a letter clearly explaining a service contract isn't going to fool many accountants. And if it's not clearly stated in the contact letter what exactly the invoice is for, it's still fraud.

If you're going to commit fraud, just don't do it by mail/wire. Federal prosecutors have a 95% conviction rate, and the maximum sentence for mail fraud is ten years longer than bank robbery.