Sleazy Is As Sleazy Does

venusvictrix says:  The reason I didnt know this man as well as his sister was that he lived abroad. Oh, I better clarify things. I am living in Asia. This man was living and working in the US all his life. I met him through my Mom and his sister when he relocated to Asia.

The Avenger

Ahhhhh, okay. Got it. Did he stay long in Asia? Or just long enough to get money from his family members’ friends and associates.

I recently discovered he also borrowed money from his sister and other members of his family. I dont think he paid them back either but they would be more forgiving. They are very well off. A few hundred thousand dollars wont make a dent in their finances.

Well, in that case — have you thought about asking them to repay you and then collect [or eat] the debt, themselves? If they introduced you to this “man” without telling you to watch your wallet, it would seem they might wish to accept some responsibility for your predicament. Especially if they’re loaded and you’re not. It would make sense, simply out of respect for the friendship with your mother.

Now he is back in the US again. Somewhere in SF or LA. He moved there about a year ago. Before he left, he told me he was setting up a business in CA. He left me post dated checks that he promised would clear. They bounced.

Were the checks written on an American bank account? That’s illegal, and we could cause him some serious legal problems if he doesn’t repay you. He could also be held liable for penalties as much as three times the amounts of the checks which bounced. Collecting can be a problem if he has nothing, however. I’m still thinking that going through his family might be our best course of action.

I think that he is kiting or running a Ponzi scheme. He borrows from A to pay B. Now I know that he is a lousy businessman but his huge ego would never let him admit that he cant run a business properly.

If only this were unusual.

One time I was pressing him to repay me and he got a call from a travel agent telling him the cost for a trip in two weeks for his son. I was sitting there and heard the whole conversation. His son was going to follow a girl to Paris for the summer. This man was happy to pay for a very expensive trip for his hormonal son and then sadly tell me he cant repay me!

And I repeat — if only this were unusual.

Now I know this man is definitely a loser in every sense of the word! I hope you can help me get my money back because now I am in a very desperate situation. He knows I am not wealthy like his family. What can we do?

Well, you can start by divulging his name. It would also be helpful to know the names of the brother who works for the bank and of the sister who introduced you to him. We need names!