Chapter 10 - Where the $286,000 went
Bank subpoenas answered faster than emotion.
The Pinecrest loan proceeds went to Blue Heron’s business account.
After fees:
Approximately $268,000 net.
Within nine days:
$112,000 transferred to Mercer BuildWorks operating account.
$46,000 paid to a commercial equipment lender.
$31,500 paid to a concrete subcontractor threatening a lien.
$28,000 transferred to a joint account Derek shared with Emily.
That looked terrible.
Then we examined the joint account.
Most of it went to:
Mortgage.
Tuition.
Ordinary household expenses.
Emily had not known where the deposit came from.
She believed it was a business distribution.
She benefited.
Not proof of participation.
Another $35,000 went to Ron and Linda.
Why?
Ron had co-signed an equipment lease for Derek’s company eighteen months earlier.
Derek reimbursed him after Ron covered two missed payments.
Some legitimate family debt.
The remaining funds went to fees, taxes, and business expenses.
No Caribbean account.
No hidden mistress.
No luxury watch.
The fraud, if proven, was desperate rather than glamorous.
Mercer BuildWorks had been failing.
Derek used a property he did not own as collateral to keep it alive.
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That did not make it less serious.
It made motive clearer.
