Imagine winning a case against a vendor that had stolen from you. Then a judge rules you have to give the stolen money back because the vendor’s broke.

That’s what happened when Mark Poveromo hired a contractor to build a new office space for his pet food business in Thomaston, CT. He hired builder Mark Koch for an $80,000 project to construct a building, and paid $39,500 up front. After discovering Koch hadn’t done any of the work, Poveromo filed a criminal complaint. Koch was convicted of first-degree felony larceny, paid $25,000 of the money back and began making monthly payments on the remaining balance.

But two months before Koch was convicted, he filed for bankruptcy protection in St. Louis, which halted any monetary claims against him — whether they were criminally related or not.

Poveromo said Koch’s bankruptcy notices were sent to an invalid business address — to the office Koch had failed to build — but a judge ruled the crooked vendor was protected from Poveromo’s suit. The business-owner was forced to pay back the restitution (of his own money) to Koch, as well as attorney’s fees and costs.

“I can’t even begin to fathom it,” said Poveromo. “Crime does pay.”

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Tags: Bankruptcy, Felony, Larceny, Office space