Too Bad I Take Things Seriously-Chapter 445 - 194: The Large Class Reunion Scene_2

In daily life, this is not uncommon. Self-serving and fond of petty gains, they talk about feelings when borrowing money and again when it’s time to repay. In short, others may suffer losses, but they never will.

"Sir, many of my classmates lent Meng Lei money, and a lot of them are thinking of suing him. What do you think we should do about this?" Ma Ming sent another message shortly after, his tone very polite, consistently using honorifics.

"The trial begins in four days, and they are spread across the country. It’s probably too late to add them to this lawsuit now," Qin Mu thought for a moment and replied. "Perhaps after your case concludes, they can try a group lawsuit, filing it together with the court."

Group litigation is also known as a class action. The incident Qing Lan encountered involving the demolition of a load-bearing wall was also a form of class action; at that time, all the residents of the entire building participated in the lawsuit.

And Meng Lei’s behavior of borrowing from the whole class and not paying anyone back... This is quite nefarious. It’s bound to catch the court’s attention.

Even... they could potentially pursue a class action suit under suspicion of fraud.

In criminal law, the crime of fraud specifically refers to the act of illegally obtaining a significant amount of public or private property by fabricating facts or concealing the truth, with the aim of unlawful possession.

Meng Lei’s purpose in borrowing money was certainly to unlawfully possess it. As for fabricating facts or hiding the truth, it might not seem evident at first glance. But in fact, when Meng Lei borrowed the money, he promised everyone that he would pay it back in a couple of days. This act itself involves fabricating facts, using the ’false promise of repayment’ to deceive others out of their property.

The sentencing for fraud is determined by the amount involved. Judicial interpretation stipulates that fraud involving public or private property valued at three thousand yuan or more, thirty thousand yuan or more, or five hundred thousand yuan or more, shall be respectively recognized as "a significant amount," "a huge amount," or "an especially huge amount" under the provisions of Article 266 of the Criminal Law.

From the screenshots of his class’s chat group, at a glance, the money Meng Lei borrowed added up to at least thirty thousand yuan. This qualifies as a "huge amount." The sentencing range is three years or more, up to ten years or less, of fixed-term imprisonment, along with a fine.

The more he borrowed, the longer his sentence. He could enjoy up to ten carefree years!

"By the way, you can provide your attorney with the screenshots from this class chat group. This also serves as supplementary evidence that can support a high probability of your claim," Qin Mu subsequently reminded Ma Ming.

The assessment of high probability, aside from the sufficiency of supplementary evidence, can also involve legal inferences drawn from a person’s usual conduct, reputation, and the impressions of others. Meng Lei’s chat records from the class group and his classmates’ opinions of him can all serve as evidence in this loan lawsuit.

It’s safe to say that once this evidence is submitted, the case, initially lacking evidence, takes another step closer to victory.

「Four days later.」

「Yangcheng.」

After a long four days, Ma Ming finally faced the day of the court hearing. At nine-thirty, he and his attorney arrived at the district court and entered the civil courtroom.

Upon entering, he immediately saw familiar faces in the gallery and couldn’t help but show surprise. "Da Liu, Old Lin, you guys actually came?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

In the gallery, most of those who had been active in the class chat group had turned up. The number had reached more than twenty! Bear in mind, their class was not from a large major, encompassing only about thirty students in total. This time, most who should have come did indeed show up. It was clear how much anger Meng Lei had incited among his classmates. Moreover, all of them had lent Meng Lei money, ranging from one or two thousand yuan to over ten thousand. Those who had lent just tens of yuan did not show up.

At that moment, the classmates sitting in the gallery were greeting each other and catching up.

"Da Liu, I heard you became a civil servant these past two years? How’s the job treating you?"

"Old Wang, I heard about your situation too. You got divorced, and the child wasn’t yours. Let the past be the past; don’t dwell on it anymore."

"Right, Mr. Zhao, have you made any profit in your business these last two years? I’m dealing in timber now. If there’s an opportunity, help out an old classmate, eh?"

"Where’s Han Meimei? I heard she loaned Meng Lei twenty thousand yuan. Why isn’t she here?"

"..."

More than twenty classmates sat in the gallery, gathered together, chatting away. After many years, many were sighing heavily. This unexpected class reunion was completely beyond their expectations—not in a hotel, nor at a KTV, but in a courtroom! Each one of them sat in the gallery, watching two of their fellow classmates embroiled in a lawsuit. This was indeed a unique experience.

"Why are there so many people in the gallery?" Ma Ming’s attorney, gazing at the packed gallery, couldn’t help but frown.

"Ahem," Ma Ming cleared his throat and stated truthfully, "these are all my old classmates. They also lent money to Meng Lei. They came to see if the lawsuit could be won. If we win, they’re considering suing too."

Upon hearing this, the attorney’s expression suddenly brightened, visibly excited. More than twenty people meant over twenty potential cases! Just the attorney fees alone would amount to a handsome income!

"Hold on!" Then, something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked cautiously, "How much did these people lend to Meng Lei?"

Ma Ming blushed. "Don’t worry, they all lent significant amounts—from one or two thousand yuan to over ten thousand. Those who only lent tens of yuan didn’t come."

Having said that,