What is the name of your state? ONTARIO, CANADA
A year ago (November 2003) this gentleman was set to help us receive Small Business Loans but after 2 months he said that he'll finance us through private financing. In the course of applying for SBL he assisted us to receive GOLD VISA cards (limit totaling at around $70,000) with help from some bank employee and then shortly after asked to borrow the money from these cards. In total he borrowed $25000 from my friend and $35000 from me.
As far as I'm concerned he purchased personal goods with that money (furniture, personal expenses, etc.). He promised that he'll give it back as soon as he receives the "loan" and gave each one of us the promissory notes: myself - $65,000, friend - $50,000. Basically they were for the principal amount owed with interest funds for helping him out. Basically he kept asking for various amounts ($100, $500, $2500 and so on) saying “To earn money you must spend money”.
Then in March 2004 he was waiting for a big loan from US and when he got it, he distributed the money for his business purposes (lawyers, ESCRO, deposits, even tried to purchase a business, etc.) and there was nothing left for us. After that he kept promising but not delivering, using every excuse out there but nothing ever worked. It's been dragging for a year now and he claims that he just got some financing and is ready to pay the bills however the payday keeps getting pushed further and further due to his “personal problems”. And at the moment he disappeared completely – we haven’t heard from him from Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004. We know that about two weeks ago he was evicted from his apartment and lived at some hotel downtown (never told us where). At this point we’re freaking out and were told that it is a fraud case because we suspect that he only persisted for us to receive those credit cards in order to borrow the money.
We do not have money for the lawyer and small claims court won't solve our problems. Bankruptcy is the only solution right now. We have all the proof needed: promissory notes, e-mails, phone records, even cheques he issued but never deposited. All three of us are on a verge of nervous breakdown and this situation has dragged for almost a year now!
My question is: Is there a way to find out if he's indeed a scam artist? Is there any legal action we can use against him without paying fortune for the lawyer? I don't know if you can help us but any help would be really appreciated! How can we find out if there were/are lawsuits launched against him?
A year ago (November 2003) this gentleman was set to help us receive Small Business Loans but after 2 months he said that he'll finance us through private financing. In the course of applying for SBL he assisted us to receive GOLD VISA cards (limit totaling at around $70,000) with help from some bank employee and then shortly after asked to borrow the money from these cards. In total he borrowed $25000 from my friend and $35000 from me.
As far as I'm concerned he purchased personal goods with that money (furniture, personal expenses, etc.). He promised that he'll give it back as soon as he receives the "loan" and gave each one of us the promissory notes: myself - $65,000, friend - $50,000. Basically they were for the principal amount owed with interest funds for helping him out. Basically he kept asking for various amounts ($100, $500, $2500 and so on) saying “To earn money you must spend money”.
Then in March 2004 he was waiting for a big loan from US and when he got it, he distributed the money for his business purposes (lawyers, ESCRO, deposits, even tried to purchase a business, etc.) and there was nothing left for us. After that he kept promising but not delivering, using every excuse out there but nothing ever worked. It's been dragging for a year now and he claims that he just got some financing and is ready to pay the bills however the payday keeps getting pushed further and further due to his “personal problems”. And at the moment he disappeared completely – we haven’t heard from him from Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004. We know that about two weeks ago he was evicted from his apartment and lived at some hotel downtown (never told us where). At this point we’re freaking out and were told that it is a fraud case because we suspect that he only persisted for us to receive those credit cards in order to borrow the money.
We do not have money for the lawyer and small claims court won't solve our problems. Bankruptcy is the only solution right now. We have all the proof needed: promissory notes, e-mails, phone records, even cheques he issued but never deposited. All three of us are on a verge of nervous breakdown and this situation has dragged for almost a year now!
My question is: Is there a way to find out if he's indeed a scam artist? Is there any legal action we can use against him without paying fortune for the lawyer? I don't know if you can help us but any help would be really appreciated! How can we find out if there were/are lawsuits launched against him?