Chapter 10 - THE MONEY RICHARD DIDN’T KNOW I COULD SEE
During divorce discovery, I learned Richard had been using marital money to prop up his family’s business.
Nearly $94,000 had moved from our joint investment account over eighteen months.
Some transfers were legitimate and disclosed.
Others were not.
Richard labeled them temporary shareholder loans.
I had never approved them.
Our prenup did not prohibit joint investments, but it did require mutual consent above a specific threshold.
Richard circumvented that by breaking transfers into smaller amounts.
That was ugly.
Not automatically criminal.
But extremely relevant to the divorce.
Then I learned why he had become increasingly angry about my separate savings.
He needed every accessible dollar.
Julian did not invest in Richard’s company.
Not because I asked him not to.
Because after initial diligence, Sterling Capital found debt levels and internal reporting issues that made the opportunity unattractive.
Richard blamed me anyway.
“You destroyed a deal worth millions.”
I replied:
“You pushed my face into a child’s birthday cake in front of the man you wanted money from.”
May you like
He had no useful response.
That was one of the few moments in our divorce I enjoyed.
