BizSugar.com › Management › Business-for-sale Scam Destroys Businesses

Ken Mitan is in jail. Thank goodness. He has stripped and destroyed many businesses, and likely destroyed lives in the process.

The short of it is this: Mitan approaches a company that is for sale (usually valued at a few million) with a slick story. For a few years he used his own name, and then aliases. He would offer close to full price and not ask any tough questions. He would want to close quickly and structure the deal as a stock sale, and on closing day would have a problem with his wire transfer, but would promise to have the money wired the next day. A stock sale means he gets the company lock, stock and barrel, including checking accounts, receivables, etc. Mitan then immediately proceeds to take the cash out of the business, collect AR, and sell assets that can be sold immediately. This can take a few days so he brazenly tells the owner that things are fine. By the time the owner realizes what is going on, Mitan runs and the company is often beyond recovery.