i am sorry if i sound negative. but what if the guy says ok i'll pay him back but i don't have the money. as far as i understand he won't go to jail for that, worse come worse it goes to collection , right? in the mean time what if his status situation comes out? wouldn't it be all loss and no gain for him? I am asking that cuz one of my relatives lend 10 k to someone they knew and the guy told him he can't pay back do whatever we can. evern after 3 yrs and going after collection i understand they are not able to pull more than 5 k.and they're legal too.