Sales tax collected but not paid - LLC member

[Grannie226]

We helped start a business in 2002 (a small restaurant - LLC) and sold back most of our shares in 2003, keeping only a small percentage (only 8%). The newest partner (42%) had forced the managing partner out and he had been running it (we had already moved out of state - FL in 2003), but then he suddenly, without warning to any of the other partners, closed it down on August 2005, leaving us responsible for the lease, (we had signed it originally and he was supposed to as well - but never did. Now we also found out that he has not paid state sales tax for several months, although he collected it - and they sent us a notice, threatening to put a lien on our property. He also did not pay some withholding tax on employees. We have none of the business's financial records/checks, etc and have not had access to the accounts since we sold back our shares. This guy is a CPA. He is the one writing all the checks and has been since 2003. We had no idea he was not paying taxes he collected or withheld for about almost a year!

I think this is a crime - isn't it? Can he be prosecuted? He is just ignoring this debt for some reason. Apparently he thinks he can get away with it - as he did the lease. He is also a member of the LLC - owning much more that we did by the way. This guy has plemty of money - a really expensive home and other property and can afford to pay for these taxes. We, on the other hand, have been financially ruined by his rash decisions. The other partner went bankrupt. We are at the end of our rope and we do NOT have the money to pay these taxes (around $20,000). Any help, advice would be apprecuated. What should we do?

 

[Grannie226]

Answer...

Well I guess none of you guys had the answer. What we did is we wrote the state with a protest letter, explaining everything and finally got released (verbally - a letter to follow) from this liability - since we were not in any way in charge of the financial decisions at the time. So, thank God.