Business partner stole money, doing business behind my back
Hi guys, what would you do in my shoes?
So my former business partner "accidentally" wrote 2 checks from the corporate account of my other brokerage business where he is not an authorized signer. The checkbook is new and there's no name/business on the checks so he thought they were his. This is how I discovered he has a side-business and account and has been making deals without my knowledge.
I literally caught him red-handed when pictures of the check showed up in my account. One of the signatures is his and one appears to be a forged replica of my own. The account he stole from is registered to my legally incorporated corporation.
The 2 checks were:
1. $xxx= Paying rent to himself from the corporate account of another broker: me
2. $x,xxx = Signed a year-long contract with a deposit using my stolen funds
Upon notifying him on his error he immediately deposited the missing money. Without any doubt, the relationship is over between me and him. However I would like to continue operating the property-management side of the business. It is lucrative and substantially profitable.
[Summary]
He is a licensed California broker and has been comingling client funds between his personal, checking, and business account. He has written 2 fraudulent checks with stolen funds of another broker (me) to 1. Enter into a 1-year lease contract and 2. Deal stolen funds to himself in the form of "rent." He is also employed by KW and has been accepting checks w/o the checks passing through KW as commission. When we started our property management business, he was not a licensed broker (only a salesperson) and was not currently employed at a brokerage. I also don't belive any of the money he collected as income has been reported to the IRS.
What exactly is he guilty of and what would you do? What kind of leverage do I have?
-Michael