What to do if my former employee opened a company with the same name as my company adding “of America” at the end?
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What to do if my former employee opened a company with the same name as my company adding “of America” at the end?
Then he opened a checking account with the same name as mine leaving off the “of America” and he didn’t file a ficticious name registry with the state. He then began depositing checks made payable to my company into his account. Is the bank liable for not doing their due diligence on the ficticious name registry?
Asked on November 6, 2012 under Business Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
No, the bank is not liable: they are not obligated to do "due diligence" to confirm business or account names. The employee, of course, is liable for his fraud, theft, and identify theft--you could sue him to recover the money he stole, and you could also report him to the police and he could face criminal prosecution--what he did is a crime as well as a civil tort.
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