god damn a im sure this op didnt lay down any pipe

I don't post on Reddit often so be patient with me. :) Also....this is kind of a long one so get some popcorn.

About fifteen years ago I was in a car accident (not my fault) and I was awarded 25K in insurance money as a result. I took the opportunity to move out of my Mom's home and get a cute little studio apartment for me and my cat. The people on either side of the courtyard were very nice and I made friends fairly quickly with all of the neighbors despite being so much younger than all of them. After living there for around a year I met a girl my age and we became, I thought, good friends. She had had marriage problems and was separated from her husband and the two children she had were in foster care for reasons she wouldn't tell anyone.

She begged me to help her get her kids back from CPS so I got a list of guidelines from the local office and together, Beggar and I started planning to try to get her children back. I bought her children furnishings and helped her get a job. I even used some of my insurance money to help her get a used car so that she had transportation for her and her kids. And she did get her kids back. They had a small two bedroom apartment. She slept on the couch and her children each had their own bedrooms. The girl's room was decked out in Dora the Explorer furnishings that I had bought for her and the boy's room was decorated with sports cars (as he requested). It was a lot of money, but I was a sucker and I thought it was a good cause. Soon after getting her kids back she stopped coming over as often. Her kids came over all the time but she was usually nowhere to be seen. I found out that she was attempting to settle things with her husband. And he moved in with her, bringing his drug problem with him. I also noticed the sleeping arrangements had changed. They had crammed the children into the smallest bedroom together, pawning off all of the toys and furniture that wouldn't fit. Apparently they used the money on pills. At this point I sort of started distancing myself from Beggar because I don't want to be involved with someone doing drugs. I did still watch the kids however, as I felt bad for them. Their parents were often found loaded up on pills and alcohol.

At this point I was out of insurance money and was working twelve hour shifts with elderly hospice patients as a caregiver. I used a large portion of my income to make sure the kids were fed since Beggar and her husband spent all their money on drugs and liquor.... It also meant that I very rarely had time to hike down to the center courtyard to check my mail. I'm guessing I had gone a month without looking, expecting that all I had was a few catalogs and several copies of the weekly shopper coupons. I've learned my lesson and I check my mail often now. :p When I opened my mailbox I was alarmed by the large stack of government sealed letters that had been wedged in it. There were six separate letters, all of which accused me of a different offense. This culminated in my having five warrants out for my arrest and a court date.

It turns out that Beggar had gotten an old used car from a local junk dealership. The car had, if I can remember the list, no tags, an expired license plate and a missing tail light so of course it was pulled over. Beggar, being on a "probational period" with CPS (meaning if she stepped out of line they would take her kids away again), panicked and decided that she would lie about her identity. So, she said she was me and she was driving without a license and insurance because she had forgotten her purse. .......bitch.........

The first thing I did was go to her and ask what this was as I recognized the model of car as the one she was so proud to have gotten (after having pawned the car I helped her get a year prior) (I didn't even know you could pawn a car btw). She smiled at me and simply said "You don't have a criminal record so they won't punish you like they would me. You don't want me to lose my kids again do you?" I'm not sure what she expected but I was beyond caring at that point. I. WAS. PISSED! The first thing I did was cancel my work for the next few days and I set about making appointments with a lawyer and the police officer that took Beggar's word that she was me simply because she knew my name and address. The next day I was at the police department where I watched a video of the interaction between the cop and Beggar. Turns out he was a newbie and he just didn't want to get in trouble for taking someone's word when he really shouldn't have. And luckily for me, Beggar's husband was there and she was instructed to switch seats with him because "I can't allow you to drive without proper ID ma'am". She then walked around the back of the car, in full view of the camera. The officer admitted his mistake since I wasn't pregnant, my hair wasn't a gigantic curly mess and I was a good foot taller than she was. (I know I didn't mention her being pregnant, but I had to cut some things out).

The next day, on my way out to visit my lawyer, I was waylaid by Beggar AND Beggar's mom. They were both furious with me for going to the police and I was instructed to go back to the station and tell them that I made a mistake and that I actually was the one at fault. When I said no, the shit hit the fan. Beggar left but her mother remained. She stood in my way on the path and wouldn't let me get to my car, all the while screaming about how she was going to tell everyone that I molested the children when they were in my care. I was young and that did scare me a little because I didn't want to be placed on a list for something I would never ever do! Still though, I recognized that she was screaming these threats in full view of many of the neighbors in my courtyard, many of whom had stepped outside to see what all the fuss was about.

The police were called and she was given a warning. I was asked if I wanted to get a restraining order but, for some reason I said no. Over the next few days CPS approached me and I told them everything, all the while feeling like I should have come forward sooner. The children were again taken into foster care. And that is where all of this should have ended, with me learning a valuable lesson.

Nope. In the weeks that followed, Beggar gave my phone number to everybody under the sun. I was called for drugs, sexual favors and even for loans. One of my car's windows was smashed in with a brick and there was shoe polish writing the words "lying whore" on the back of the car. At one point people started coming and banging on the door of my apartment in the middle of the night and they shattered my front window and broke my bird feeder. I was saved from taking any legal action for all of this when Beggar's husband and Beggar were thrown in jail for identity theft, buying and selling drugs, all of the charges that had previously been mine and child endangerment (there may have been more but I can't remember). The apartment hired 24 hour security because of everything that had happened and they also installed security cameras all around the courtyards.

TLDR: I learned a hard lesson on who I can and cannot trust after having a "friend" steal my identity and almost getting tossed in jail for crimes that she committed.

(edit: This happened in Texas.)