Ok you legal minds of the OT. Got a friend who's been scammed.

And no it's not a bitcoin scam.

They are building a house and paid this subcontractor about 15,000 up front for work. He was supposedly reputable and did good work.

Well about a week after he cut the guy a check, the subcontractor fell over with acute heart explosion. He's gone.

After this happened, it was found out that other people had given some upfront money and was getting baby steps on work being done. Turns out the business was in a bind because the subcontractor and his wife liked looking like millionaires on the weekend but was in debt up to their eyeballs. They were living out of the business. And people's new deposits was funding work for people that paid months ago.

Now the spouse, instead of making things right, is hurriedly putting assets, including the business, in their kids name.

My immediate advice was to run to an attorney, any attorney with a pulse, and get a judgement ahead of anyone else and suppliers. They took the advice, but no attorneys want to bother with it no matter how small the office.

I told them it's probably a not so bad thing that they have placed the assets in another name because they are still alive and therefore would not be included in an estate closing or a bankruptcy by the spouse.

So what does he need to do since no attorney will take it? They obviously need to get a lien on the books and then possibly go after a fraudulent conveyance. Is this something they can take care of on their own with a friend (me) that could help them with a layman's knowledge of the law? The 15k isn't going to break them, they have a pretty good job and their mother, who may wind up funding the whole thing since she is pissed.

What say ye board law firm partners?