As a Texas business owner, discovering that a partner, employee, or manager may be embezzling funds can be devastating. Left unaddressed, financial misappropriation can threaten your company's stability, compromise relationships with vendors and customers, and potentially lead to difficult-to-recover financial losses.
This guide outlines practical steps to identify, address, and recover suspected embezzlement, helping you protect your Texas business.
Detecting Embezzlement in Your Texas Business
Embezzlement rarely happens without leaving traces. Be alert for these warning signs to detect potential embezzlement before substantial losses occur:
- Financial indicators often provide the first clues, such as unexplained cash shortages, irregularities in financial statements, unusual bank withdrawals in round numbers, delayed deposits, discrepancies between reported and actual revenue, or increasing debt despite stable business performance.
- Technology-related red flags may include deleted financial records, unexplained password changes to financial accounts, resistance to implementing financial controls or sharing financial records, unusual system login patterns, or missing documentation.
- Changes in customer and vendor relationships can also signal problems. Watch for new vendors with vague contact details or mailing addresses similar to an employee’s, increased vendor complaints about late or missing payments, or customers reporting payments that don't appear in your records.
If you suspect embezzlement, contact a business litigation attorney immediately. Our team can help you gather evidence to support your claims of misappropriation or mismanagement. This may include forensic accounting investigations, witness interviews, and preservation of electronic evidence.
Legal Remedies to Stop Suspected Embezzlement
- Demand an Accounting: As a member of an LLC or a shareholder of a corporation, you have the right to examine and copy the business’s financial records. If access is being denied or records appear incomplete, you can request the court to order a formal accounting to determine the extent of any financial irregularities.
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Business partners, corporate officers, and LLC managers have fiduciary duties to the business. A lawsuit can be brought against the member, partner, or manager for breach of fiduciary duty if they have failed to act in the best interests of the company and its members.
- Fraud: When deliberate deception is involved, fraud claims may be appropriate.
- Conversion: Conversion is essentially civil theft – the unauthorized assumption and exercise of ownership rights over someone else's property. This can be an appropriate claim when company funds have been diverted for personal use.
- Injunctive Relief: A temporary restraining order is an emergency court order that can freeze assets to prevent further misappropriation, prevent the suspected embezzler from accessing company accounts, and preserve evidence that might otherwise be destroyed. A TRO is often followed by a temporary injunction hearing that can maintain the status quo until the lawsuit is concluded.
- Damages: You can seek recovery of the exact amount embezzled plus any consequential losses directly resulting from the embezzlement. The exact damages available will depend on which causes of action you pursue (fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, etc.) and the specific circumstances of your case.
How Partnership, Shareholder, and Operating Agreements Affect Theft Claims
Carefully drafted agreements often include clauses that can help protect against partner, shareholder, or manager theft, including:
- Detailed accounting and reporting requirements
- Specific approval processes for expenditures above certain thresholds
- Regular audit provisions
- Clear definitions of what constitutes improper self-dealing
- Explicit fiduciary duty language
An operating, shareholder, or partnership agreement that includes these provisions creates contractual obligations, potentially allowing for breach of contract claims in addition to tort claims like conversion or fraud.
If your agreements do not include these provisions, or your business does not have an operating agreement, speak to an attorney about putting one in place.
Business Disagreements vs. Actual Theft
Not all financial disputes constitute theft. Texas law recognizes that business partners may have legitimate disagreements about:
- Compensation structures
- The timing and frequency of distributions
- Business expenses
- Investment decisions
- Allocation of resources
The key distinction often lies in transparency, disclosure, and whether actions were taken in good faith with the business's interests in mind.
The bottom line: Hidden or unauthorized transactions, missing or falsified records, or money flowing directly to personal accounts or purchases unrelated to business needs strongly suggests embezzlement.
Direct vs. Derivative Actions in Texas
Understanding the difference between direct and derivative actions in Texas is crucial when pursuing legal remedies for embezzlement.
When allegations involve misappropriation of funds or self-dealing, this distinction will influence whether the recovery goes to the company or directly to individual partners or members.
Direct Action
A direct action is a lawsuit filed by a shareholder, member, or business partner in their individual capacity when they have personally suffered harm distinct from that suffered by the business entity.
In Texas, direct actions are appropriate when:
- The plaintiff suffered personal harm separate from general harm to the LLC
- The operating or partnership agreement created a specific individual right that was denied
- The wrongdoing specifically targeted an individual's rights within the business
For example, if a business partner specifically withholds or misdirects a distribution from another partner, this could be grounds for a direct action since the harm is specific to that individual partner.
Derivative Action
A derivative action is a lawsuit brought by a shareholder or member on behalf of the business entity itself against those who have harmed the entity (often directors, officers, or managing partners).
In Texas, derivative actions are required when:
- The harm was done to the business entity as a whole
- The plaintiff is suing in a representative capacity on behalf of the entity
Potential Defenses Against Embezzlement Claims
Be prepared for these common defenses:
- Authorization defense (claiming they had permission)
- Business judgment rule (claiming decisions were legitimate business choices)
- Lack of intent to permanently deprive
- The statute of limitations has expired
- Technical defenses regarding business structure or standing
Your attorney can help you anticipate and respond to these defense strategies.
Act Quickly to Protect Your LLC, Corporation, or Partnership from Embezzlement
It's critical to act quickly to protect your interests and prevent further potential losses. Evidence can disappear, statutes of limitations can expire, and assets may be further drained and more difficult to recover while you delay.
Our experienced business litigation attorneys can help you navigate embezzlement and misappropriation claims so you can get back to business. Contact us today to discuss your situation and explore your legal options.