Help!

Back in 2008, at the insistence of my husband, I took out a $500 payday loan from Advance America in New Hampshire. I gave my husband the $500 to replay it the following week. He said he did. We divorced later that same year, with me still believing the payday loan was satisfied. In the years since, I've relocated to the state of Maine. I don't deal with payday loans. That was the first and last time. Our divorce was settled and all's been good. Except last year, I received a notice from Advance America that the $500 was still owed and I would be sued for the amount plus interest for the 3.5 years it went unpaid. When I called to get clarification on this, I had to leave a message. I called them a few more times, but never got to speak to anyone. I left a total of 2 messages, then never bothered to call them again. Today, nearly 5 years later, I get a call from a woman with a thick accent who refused to give me her name or the collection firm I assumed she was calling from. She threatened me, yelled at me, and said that I was going to be arrested tomorrow at 11am by a sheriff on the charge of fraud. She listed off 3 more "actions" that I was being arrested for, all relating to this $500, which she claimed is now over $16,000. She said the sheriff will arrest me and fly me to California to "await trial." She asked if I had any children. I asked her why. (I have 4 children, my oldest being a child with special needs, but I did not tell her that.) She said, "Because your children will need to have a place to go tomorrow for when you are arrested. And if I were you, I would find them a safe place to live because when you lose in court, you will go to jail for at least 3 months." She had my current remarried legal name, social security number, current address, and even knew that I was recently self-employed!

The number this woman called me from is 707-508-4204. She said the Department of Investigation had my file and would be "coming after" me tomorrow, and good luck. I hung up on her and called my local police department. They said if I had a warrant for my arrest, they would know about it. They advised me not to answer the phone when that number calls because it sounded like a scam. I called my ex-husband to inform him. He admitted that he never paid back that $500 payday loan that was in my name. Great...

I looked up the phone number online. The name and address are hidden, but it is localized in California. Santa Rosa and Almaden, California to be exact. I am not pleased with my ex-husband, but this is certainly not the worst thing he's ever done to me... Can I be arrested for this? I have four children and I very meager income... a $500 debt that quickly turned into a $16,000 debt... threat of arrest and lawsuit...? Is this for real? :confused: