I am a business partner in a corporation with one other non-related person. I am known as the silent partner investing a huge amountof money to start a business. The partner operated the retail business. It showed a loss for the first yr and I invested more in the second yr. Sales were way down and again lost money. When a supplier called me to say his cheque was nsf I called the bank for an a recent statement. I saw cheques written for non business related expenses as well as debit card purchases and withdrawals. We initially signed that there would be no debit card and that 2 signatures were required on all cheques. All of these cheques had only his signature. He had requested a debit card and got it. I went to discuss the statement with him. He did not deny nor could he explain the cheques/transactions. I told him I would be looking into a forensic audit. Within a week the doors were closed. I never had keys to the business. I couldn't get ahold of him by phone or going to his door. I contacted the company lawyer to request a meeting. He did attend and it was decided on that the business now closed be put up for sale. I made arrangements to meet him there to do an inventory/clean up. He did not show up. I have not been able to contact him since. It has been more than 4 weeks. I have now heard he has moved to another prov. His house is for sale and empty. I contacted the real estate agent today and with him went into the business. It is a shambles. It looks like it was abandoned in the middle of the night. All inventory is gone. Fixtures are in place but the computer is gone and there are several empty file drawers. There are papers everywhere, including unopened envelopes, some older inventory in a disarray. The phone was disconnected several weeks ago but there is power and heat. The mortgage is in arrears. The bank account has about $40 in it. Junk all over the floor.. hardly in the shape to be resold... the agent said he asked him to clean it up and I agreed that what he did was clean it out. I do not know what my next move is. I can prove he used business funds for personal use and when I confronted him he locked the doors and bailed. I have contacted the RCMP but they said they really can't charge him with fraud. I contacted Revenue Canada and they are getting back to me. I have had numerous calls from collections and from suppliers who have post dated cheques. I asked the bank to freeze the acct. What recourse have I got to ensure I am not held responsible for the mess created? I have no books.. no proof of anything.. except that I lost a lot of money. How do I go about closing and finalizing this fiasco.. and disolving the company. I want nothing more to do with this and haven't for more than a yr when he said he would buy me out but when I presented the statement of what I had invested he never got back to me. Believe me there is a question in here... I am full of questions.. where do I start to end this?
