The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

My ex business partner stole 50'000US$ from me, what should i do?

CHEntrepreneur

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
200%
Aug 23, 2020
5
10
Switzerland
Hi guys

I had a business partnership with a person abroad.
At the beginning everything went well and we earned a lot of money together.
One day my business partner asked me for an investment. I trusted him and gave the money.
But now I found out that he is a gambling addict and went to the casino and gambled away my money.

He is hiding now because he is afraid of me, I can't fly abroad at the moment because of Covid.
I could have him arrested right away with one phone call, but then he would go to prison for a very long time.
In his country they have very strict laws and the prisons are horrible.

What should I do? Forgive him? Teach him a lesson?
I know I will never see the money again. It hurts me more that I was lied to because I trusted him.

What would you do in my situation? Dump him and focus on my business?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
Hi guys

I had a business partnership with a person abroad.
At the beginning everything went well and we earned a lot of money together.
One day my business partner asked me for an investment. I trusted him and gave the money.
But now I found out that he is a gambling addict and went to the casino and gambled away my money.

He is hiding now because he is afraid of me, I can't fly abroad at the moment because of Covid.
I could have him arrested right away with one phone call, but then he would go to prison for a very long time.
In his country they have very strict laws and the prisons are horrible.

What should I do? Forgive him? Teach him a lesson?
I know I will never see the money again. It hurts me more that I was lied to because I trusted him.

What would you do in my situation? Dump him and focus on my business?
You could have him arrested with one phone call? How so?

Investigation like this take a long time.

The police could brush it off as an civil affair and ask you to sue, given that the sum is small and there is only one victim.

The police has files of files of cases of collect investment schemes fraud to chase the money. The last on their priority is a case of “my friend didn’t return the money I lent him”.

Unless you have very good paper procedure to prove that he is the custodian of that 50k for an investment purpose. He could spin the story to the police saying he borrowed 50k from you to settle his financial issues. You didn’t wanted to invest in his investment pitch. When the police is fed up they just go ask you to get a lawyer to sue him and drop the investigation.

It is unlikely that you just found out he has a gambling issue. You probably know it earlier.
You just didn’t expect him to gamble with your money and lie to you.

The story is so common.
 
Last edited:

WestCoast

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
311%
Jan 20, 2008
506
1,573
Rhode Island for now.
I'm traveling internationally currently. Flying across borders regularly.

Not sure a face to face confrontation is the way to get your money back - but blaming covid for not traveling if you think that's how to solve this.... yeah, you can fly. I do it every 1-2 weeks.

Buy a ticket, go to the airport.
 

biophase

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
474%
Jul 25, 2007
9,120
43,260
Scottsdale, AZ
Hi guys

I had a business partnership with a person abroad.
At the beginning everything went well and we earned a lot of money together.
One day my business partner asked me for an investment. I trusted him and gave the money.
But now I found out that he is a gambling addict and went to the casino and gambled away my money.

He is hiding now because he is afraid of me, I can't fly abroad at the moment because of Covid.
I could have him arrested right away with one phone call, but then he would go to prison for a very long time.
In his country they have very strict laws and the prisons are horrible.

What should I do? Forgive him? Teach him a lesson?
I know I will never see the money again. It hurts me more that I was lied to because I trusted him.

What would you do in my situation? Dump him and focus on my business?

Based on this limited information. I'd call and had him arrested.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
492%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,664
34
Texas
Criminal proceedings don't get you your money back, but they do get you revenge... If revenge is that important to you.

If he has a gambling problem, the money is gone.

Unfortunately, you have no recourse that makes you whole.
 

QuickMail

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
420%
Jan 25, 2021
5
21
Education costs. To put it bluntly: in your case you were dumb enough to trust without due diligence, it's you who should learn the lesson, from what you are saying you didn't.

Call the police if you think he is a danger to others, not to get even or 'teach him a lesson' when he is already down, that's not being the greater man.

Learn your lesson and move on. Consider that now on top of the 50k you are wasting your time and that adds to the overall cost opportunity.

PS: he probably wasn't a real business partner or he would have shares in your business and from reading this, it sounds unlikely so really you were just using him to make money, which is okay. That also means it's significantly easier to cut ties.

Just move on - faster
 
Last edited:

The-J

Dog Dad
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
264%
Aug 28, 2011
4,199
11,079
Ontario
Have you talked to a lawyer? More specifically, have you talked to the right KIND of lawyer?

You need real legal advice. Don't try to solve this on your own. Your partner committed a crime, likely multiple crimes, and you were the victim. Also it's unlikely that his home country will have anything to do with this: if the crime was committed in Switzerland then he will be subject to Swiss law.

There might be nothing you can do, or you might be able to get him extradited, tried in criminal court, and you may be awarded a judgment which he may or may not pay back. But you don't know until you get real, actual legal advice from someone in your country.

They'll also tell you whether it's worth losing sleep over. So if there really IS nothing you can do, you'll at least have that peace of mind and you can go back to working on your business.
 

WJK

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
256%
Oct 9, 2017
3,115
7,961
Alaska
Education costs. To put it bluntly: in your case you were dumb enough to trust without due diligence, it's you who should learn the lesson, from what you are saying you didn't.

Call the police if you think he is a danger to others, not to get even or 'teach him a lesson' when he is already down, that's not being the greater man.

Learn your lesson and move on. Consider that now on top of the 50k you are wasting your time and that adds to the overall cost opportunity.

PS: he probably wasn't a real business partner or he would have shares in your business and from reading this, it sounds unlikely so really you were just using him to make money, which is okay. That also means it's significantly easier to cut ties.

Just move on - faster
I totally agree. The guy was dumb enough to hand over the money. Both of them lost. The only good that can come from is for the lender of the money to learn from it. Since the borrower is hiding, he doesn't intend to make good on the loan and he lacks character. The situation is a "done deal", so the lender must learn and move on.
 

Lion Identity

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
223%
Sep 19, 2019
13
29
Hi guys

I had a business partnership with a person abroad.
At the beginning everything went well and we earned a lot of money together.
One day my business partner asked me for an investment. I trusted him and gave the money.
But now I found out that he is a gambling addict and went to the casino and gambled away my money.

He is hiding now because he is afraid of me, I can't fly abroad at the moment because of Covid.
I could have him arrested right away with one phone call, but then he would go to prison for a very long time.
In his country they have very strict laws and the prisons are horrible.

What should I do? Forgive him? Teach him a lesson?
I know I will never see the money again. It hurts me more that I was lied to because I trusted him.

What would you do in my situation? Dump him and focus on my business?
Hey my friend,

I've been there in a similar situation, it was about $200k in Tonga with a guy named Fukalata, I kid you not! Something similar happened to Mark Cuban, cut ties, move on, it's a lesson learned, don't waste time holding on to it like I did. I have since moved on and created 2 multi 7-figure businesses with several employees, thousands of happy clients and I could have done it sooner had I moved on quicker from my "lesson learned". Let it go and go 100% with your business and never make that mistake again.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

BizyDad

Keep going. Keep growing.
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
416%
Oct 7, 2019
2,885
11,989
Phoenix AZ
Call the police if you think he is a danger to others,
He is a danger to others. Scam artists don't just stop scamming.

Make the call.

But as others have said, know that this will be probably be harder for you than just walking away...
 

Choices

Never Settle
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
Sep 3, 2019
35
51
Switzerland
If in the time it takes you to recoup the 50k you would be making more than 50k in ur current biz, then focus on ur biz, otherwise pursue him....simple

As for morals. You'll be helping him. By sending him to prison he will have time to reflect on his action (gambling / lying / not returning money). That's what prisons are meant for, meditation.

// EDIT: How did u find out that he's a gambling addict?...
 

lomb

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
53%
Jun 11, 2020
17
9
Dublin
He is a danger to others. Scam artists don't just stop scamming.

Make the call.

But as others have said, know that this will be probably be harder for you than just walking away...
Forget it. If you made more than you lost and it sounds like you did in your first line consider the time spent well. I'd let it go and move on. You gave it to him, he stuck it all on black and he lost it. Always fail forward than fail backwards.Go from failure to failure with enthusiasm , learn from yours and compress time by learning from others failures. I recommend Stefan James on YouTube for mindset. The guy started off a scammer selling how to cure alcoholism in 3 days ebooks making 3 million and was caught but his advice on mindset you won't find better and is very honest now.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

lomb

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
53%
Jun 11, 2020
17
9
Dublin
Hey my friend,

I've been there in a similar situation, it was about $200k in Tonga with a guy named Fukalata, I kid you not! Something similar happened to Mark Cuban, cut ties, move on, it's a lesson learned, don't waste time holding on to it like I did. I have since moved on and created 2 multi 7-figure businesses with several employees, thousands of happy clients and I could have done it sooner had I moved on quicker from my "lesson learned". Let it go and go 100% with your business and never make that mistake again.
Exactly go all in to the next part of your life. Forget it it's only money. Your time is much more valuable.
 

WJK

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
256%
Oct 9, 2017
3,115
7,961
Alaska
If in the time it takes you to recoup the 50k you would be making more than 50k in ur current biz, then focus on ur biz, otherwise pursue him....simple

As for morals. You'll be helping him. By sending him to prison he will have time to reflect on his action (gambling / lying / not returning money). That's what prisons are meant for, meditation.

// EDIT: How did u find out that he's a gambling addict?...
I question your basic premise. Is it really a win to put him in jail? Meditation? This man didn't screw up just this time -- it's a normal lifestyle issue for him. Otherwise, without regular influxes of other people's money, he couldn't have a continuing gambling problem. Not only that, blatant punishment doesn't usually change other people's minds. It creates a situation where the target of that punishment pushes back through total aggression or passive-aggressive behavior. What does work well is to create unpleasant consequences. Other than creating a direct consequence, the only other practical reason I can see for prisons is to separate dangerous people from the rest of us. We have always had a criminal element within our human ranks. It's nothing new nor unusual.
 

Choices

Never Settle
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
146%
Sep 3, 2019
35
51
Switzerland
I question your basic premise. Is it really a win to put him in jail? Meditation? This man didn't screw up just this time -- it's a normal lifestyle issue for him. Otherwise, without regular influxes of other people's money, he couldn't have a continuing gambling problem. Not only that, blatant punishment doesn't usually change other people's minds. It creates a situation where the target of that punishment pushes back through total aggression or passive-aggressive behavior. What does work well is to create unpleasant consequences. Other than creating a direct consequence, the only other practical reason I can see for prisons is to separate dangerous people from the rest of us. We have always had a criminal element within our human ranks. It's nothing new nor unusual.

We're diverging from the topic but OK, then community work or something that will make him reflect on this actions. Otherwise he will stay in this loop. It's up to every prisoner how they see prison. Some say "I deserve it and now I can reflect on what I did and how it was wrong", others chose to say "fkin cops I'll get them some day" or something...
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

WJK

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
256%
Oct 9, 2017
3,115
7,961
Alaska
We're diverging from the topic but OK, then community work or something that will make him reflect on this actions. Otherwise he will stay in this loop. It's up to every prisoner how they see prison. Some say "I deserve it and now I can reflect on what I did and how it was wrong", others chose to say "fkin cops I'll get them some day" or something...
Good business is based upon understanding and working with basic human nature -- both the good and the bad. I understand your point of view. It just doesn't square with my business experiences over the years. For a person who misbehaves, it would be wonderful for them to have an epiphany that creates a positive change. Yes, it is possible, but it tends to be rare.
 

Speculatooor

Bronze Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
249%
Jul 11, 2019
152
378
Netherlands
I think the best thing is to not let this setback have too much negative impact on your future. Take revenge if you want. Try to see it as part of the journey, and move on to greater heights.
 

BlackLynx

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
279%
Jan 21, 2019
112
313
Belgium
Ask yourself why you made an account on this forum just to post this question. What answer did you really wanted to hear?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top