He was the judge who examined in 59 BC the controversial affair of Lucius Vettius, who was supposedly involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the "triumvir" Pompey.
[1][2] Broughton supposed, on basis of this, that Dives had been a plebeian aedile in the previous year.
[3] Dives was a praetor in 57 BC, and, along with his other colleagues in office, supported the recall of the ex-consul Cicero from exile.
[4] He appears to have squandered a substantial amount of his wealth, causing Cicero to comment, in 59 BC, that his surname Dives (Latin for 'rich') was no longer appropriate for him.
[5][6] Valerius Maximus reported that Crassus went bankrupt and that the name "Dives" became a provocative taunt; this must have happened after his term as praetor.