Tyrone, GA · Member since 2013 · 3 posts · 0 votes
I met a real estate investor from Canada today that bought a house for 90,000 in Atlanta. Someone in Canada referred her to A project manager here in Atlanta who ended up running off with $100,000 and only finishing a third of the project. Any suggestions on what she needs to do.
Expensive lesson. I got a few of those kind of lessons that cost less than $100k, but still hurt. I always buy all the materials and never pay for labor (more than a few bucks, anyway) ahead of what is complete.
Been there, though. I've actually had one take back the materials I had on site and disappear on me, in addition to the "startup money" I gave him.
Anyway, hard to go after them if they have no assets and are self employed, which is usually the case with the theives. With that kind of money I'd sure try, though. Does she know where they live? Know of any assets? You can call the police and shoot for something like theft by conversion or fraud, but they are probably going to tell you your only recourse is a civil suit Its a breach of contract, I dont know that they'd call it a criminal act from what you've described. Worth the phone call, though.
I'm in Atlanta and can recommend quality people to get her finished if she wants. I know a few collection attorneys, too.
Contact the district attorney; they may have other complaints about this guy. If not, they will be pursuing his arrest and prosecution since the amount involved is not chump change.
Run a public records/asset search, figure out where and what he owns. If he owns real estate, file suit and get an injunction to prevent him from transferring it ASAP. It is extremely difficult to collect from private individuals, moreso when they have time to hide assets, so she needs to move quickly before he dissipates everything. Real estate is by far the easiest asset to levy. A private suit, not the DA, is the most efficient way to get the money back, although I would pursue both civil and criminal avenues. Tough situation, but given the money involved, best way to get the money back is to make his life hell.