Chapter 12 - NORTHVALEThe financial review came back more complicated than I wanted.
Northvale was not a fake company.
Darren Hart had employees.
Trucks.
Insurance.
Licenses.
He performed legitimate work.
Approximately $31,000 of the $58,000 in payments matched actual emergency repairs and property turns.
Another $13,000 involved real services but unusually high markups.
About $14,000 lacked adequate documentation.
Kelsey had approved several invoices.
Ethan approved nearly all final payments.
Did Kelsey pocket the money?
Not directly.
But transfers showed Darren sent Kelsey about $8,200 over ten months.
Kelsey described those as repayment of a personal loan.
Could be.
Records supported that she had lent him money two years earlier.
Was every transfer innocent?
Unclear.
No giant embezzlement revelation.
A related-party vendor with weak controls.
Poor disclosure.
Possible overbilling.
May you like
Enough for a business dispute.
Not enough to call the entire $58,000 theft.
