My mother recently contacted me and said that she bought a business from a previous employer of hers 3 years ago which he let her have for 5000 dollars.. she said that she would pay back as the business made money... well the business never made money so she closed it... he never received his money.. now he is threatening to sue her for fraud... he won't accept a payment plan and says she has to pay him 1500 dollars by the 1st of this month.. just curious if he can do that? I mean can he sue her if she offers some sort of payment plan even if its not what he really wants

Yes he can. If she owes him money he does not have to accept any partial payment plan.

However, can she prove the agreement to pay as the business made money and can she prove the business never generated a profit?

What does she have by way of proof IN WRITING?

This is the same as borrowing money and paying it back "When I have the funds." If you never have the funds, you never pay it back.

It will be her word against his if there's no paperwork.

I don't think there was any formal paperwork.. I will have to ask her to be sure... but she is telling me she was supposed to pay him back as it made money... but I don't know if that was a stipulation to him selling her the business either though... but she is contacting me today on the 27th and he wants the money by the 1st which seems a little bit unfeasible for any person trying to collect a debt... she says he wants the money because he spent the money he was supposed to owe to her and bounced a check or something.. idk something just sounds a bit fishy to me...

... now he is threatening to sue her for fraud...

If they eventually enter into a written settlement agreement, don't let her sign anything saying "fraud".

First, from what you say there no fraud involved; the business just didn't make what they thought it would.
Secondly, and this is important: if it recites "fraud" she wouldn't ever be able to obtain a bankruptcy discharge, if whatever repayment arrangement she makes doesn't work either.

The fraud part would come in by her saying no profit was made.
This means she would have to produce the books of the business showing the financial dealings.

Second, he can demand any deadline he wants. But if she can't make that deadline, then he has to sue before he can force her to pay.


she says he wants the money because he spent the money he was supposed to owe to her and bounced a check or something.

This makes no sense, what money is he supposed to owe her?

Far too many fuzzy details (or no details at all) to have much of an opinion.

It's going to boil down to the written contract, if there is one.

Yes, don't sign anything now, since fraud could also be criminal, not just civil. If it is merely a matter of not paying a debt then the other person sues her for the debt.

OK well even then does she have to pay it all at one time if he sues her? I'm sorry I mistyped that one portion.. the money that my mother was supposed to pay him he spent and wrote a check and it bounced... was supposed to be used to help some family with a hospital thing or something to that effect... I told her it couldn't be a matter of fraud she's definantly worried though so I told her I would get some opinions...

Ok, so he spent the money he anticipated getting from her. That's his problem, not hers.

If she loses the suit, she can try to negotiate the payback method.

OK that's what I was kind of aiming for.. so she can still try and negotiate the payback in that aspect... the whole thing just doesn't quite make sense to me.. not sure if I'm not getting the whole story but in any event I just wanted some more perspective...