Former employer overdue on 9 weeks of wages and other debts

[hummingway1]

Washington, DC

I recently left a company that I never signed a contract with, persuaded by the owner that because it was a start-up company, formal legal matters will come after stabilizing the company. Because of a lack of capital, myself and several other employees worked day and night for two months without pay. Additionally, we paid for much of the company expenses, the money owed to me totaling 7 thousand. The CEO then left the country, claiming he was going to go raise capital. There were delays in communication (which were mostly done appallingly by text messages) and he suddenly became cold, distant, and unwilling to share with the employees back in the States what exactly he is doing. We all decided to leave recently, and I am trying to find out if there are any legal pursuits I can take to get our money back. Please advise!

By the way, the CEO/owner is not a US citizen, which makes matters more complicated...but the company is US registered.

[ecmst12]

You can file a complaint with the DOL, or you can hire a lawyer and sue. It's too much for small claims.

[pattytx]

How is/was the company structured? Sole proprietorship, general partnership, LLC, S-Corp, S-Corp?

[hummingway1]

It was a C-corp...the worst part is that the company owes money to so many people (former employees who got let go and were never compensated) and businesses, and the owner is out of the country and not even a US citizen...and because I've been dealing with these businesses and vendors as representative of the company, I'm afraid that I'd be liable for these outstanding payments. I'm trying to see if there are ways to pressure him that won't cost much for me...as you can probably assume, I'm pretty much broke and in debt because of this experience.

Thanks for your help.

[pattytx]

Unless you're found to be a responsible party, I don't see you being held personally liable for any of the company's debts.

The problem I see is, even if you want to sue,
1. Who do you sue, and
2. If you win, is there any money to pay you

I'd be looking for an attorney pronto. Especially in this case, the longer you snooze, the more you lose.