Please help, my former housemate scammed me! Long story short, we shared an apartment and both names are on the lease. I usually pay the full rent for the house in one check, and he writes me his share. After haggling, he finally writes May's rent of $300 check to me on 5/26. I deposited it to BofA on 5/28. Funds show up in my account on 5/30. The apartment is vacated at the end of May. On 6/05, there was a reversal of the funds as he put a stop payment on it. I did not receive a bounced check charge. I found out about this fiasco when I received a copy of the cancelled check in the mail yesterday. On the copy of the check, it specifically states "May rent" and is written to me.

The landowner witheld his portion of the security deposit $300 because the housemate had property damages/cleaning and had remaining furniture which was removed by the landowner. The landowner kept his entire portion of the security (which is iffy), but the housemate NEVER got in touch with the owner and NEVER returned his key to me or the owner. I got my portion of the security deposit back. He is ticked that he didn't get his security deposit and he's is basically taking it out on me. I threatened to take him to small claims court and he is calling my bluff. The house and housemate is on the East Coast, I have since relocated to the West Coast. I assume Court will be have to take place on the East Coast.

So what are my options now? I'm pissed at the bank since I thought the funds had cleared, when they had not, but they said they couldn't do anything as it can take up to 10 business days for funds to clear. I've drafted a letter against the housemate which warns legal action, but I am not a lawyer and probably can't afford to hire one. I have his employer's name, phone number, fax, and e-mail, and wonder if I should send his employer a copy of the letter and whether it is legal. I called the former housemate who is extremely difficult to contact. He doesn't seem to care if I sue him or not. Please help.