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Kajol78 · May 20, 2009, 09:55 AM

Hi my name is Kajol and I really need some advice... My accountant has a friend that he knows very well and he needed money to start his business. Well my accountant knows how much I have and asked me to help his friend out... At first I said no then he told me that the friend will give back with interest. The amount his friend needed is $250,000.00... I gave them this amount and the accountant prepared the paperwork. The friend signed and so did I. It has been 4 yrs and I still haven't seen a penny of that money... I'm not sure what to do now... I have asked my accountant a lot of times about his friend and he always says don't worry you'll get it... Well now his friend's business is bankrupted... The accountant says that he doesn't know what's going on... What should I do?? How can I get my money back? There was no lawyer involved, so does that mean I lost my money?? I only have some documents typed by the accountant with a signature... Will that help me??

Libran · May 20, 2009, 10:36 AM

If not on stamp paper, then I doubt it will help anyway.

this8384 · May 20, 2009, 12:09 PM

You need to hire an attorney to locate the friend and sue him for the money.

Where are you located? Certain states have a statute of limitations on the timeframe in which you can sue someone.

Kajol78 · May 21, 2009, 07:23 AM

I live in Los Angeles, California...

ScottGem · May 21, 2009, 07:27 AM

Do you know if the bankruptcy has been completed? If it hasn't you have to immediately file with the trustee assigned to the bankruptcy a claim against the business and or the person. A lot of this will depend on whether the agreement was with the person or the business.

I would stroingly suggest you immediately contact an attorney to determine your options.

JudyKayTee · May 22, 2009, 08:16 AM

If the debt is going to be discharged in bankruptcy you legally have to be notified. Have you received any papers from the Court?

ScottGem · May 22, 2009, 09:39 AM

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

If the debt is going to be discharged in bankruptcy you legally have to be notified. Have you received any papers from the Court?

I have the sinking suspicion that this debt was never entered on the books of the company.

JudyKayTee · May 22, 2009, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

I have the sinking suspicion that this debt was never entered on the books of the company.

I have the same sinking feeling - depending on whether it's a business loan to the business or a personal loan for the business if it's not listed, OP might have the option of filing a Motion in Bankruptcy Court to either hold this particular debt separate OR simply feeze the Bankruptcy until all debts are listed.

Don't know that either plan will get his money back to him.

If it's outright fraud, then the Accountant (who hopefully has liability insurance) has some responsibility.

Another issue is going to be the amount and the fact that OP received no payments in 4 years (give or take).

AK lawyer · May 23, 2009, 09:54 AM

What's this thread doing in "small claims"? $.25 million is not a small claims matter.

Originally Posted by Kajol78

...I gave them this amount and the accountant prepared the paperwork. The friend signed and so did I. ...

You might consider proceeding against the accountant & his/her malpractice insurance for, among other things, unauthorized practice of law.

See a real lawyer.

I wouldn't have a lot of hope for getting much out of the bankruptcy case. It appears to be an unsecured, non-priority claim. There probably isn't much of anything remaining to pay your claim with.