So in the US, for software engineering jobs outside of DoD related stuff...I have yet to be asked for references (even then I don't think I was for being hired,

So in the US, for software engineering jobs outside of DoD related stuff...I have yet to be asked for references (even then I don't think I was for being hired, just for the clearance, and that was more personal than professional). I would actually view being asked for them as a warning sign, given how useless they are (speaking as a hiring manager). I wouldn't worry about it from that perspective. If you need to you can point out that the company hasn't spoken to the police even when you reached out to them with concern over it, or retained legal counsel, or etc...but chances are really good it's going to be a non-issue for future employment. If they do eventually reach out to police, and assert it was you, it will be more interesting. That said, it doesn't sound like the kind of thing where they'd have a particularly compelling case.