That could be a possible scenario in my state of Arizona. Under the Arizona Revised Statutes, if the seller was not lawfully empowered to dispose of the instrument he or she could be charged with "theft by control". And the buyer under that circumstance might be liable to a charge of "receiving stolen goods".

I always insist that any private-party seller provide me with a signed-and-witnessed bill of sale as a "CMA" precaution.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY