So, I run a small business on the side, I do have an ABN, but by no means is this my primary job but it gives me extra income on the side. I usually only accept cash in hand jobs but someone approached me last year to do some work, they said they did not have all the cash right now and if I am willing to do a payment plan. I was uneasy about it but I decided to go ahead with it. I took all his details, copies of his drivers license, contact details, I got him to sign paperwork that he accepted my terms etc. So, let's call him Person X.
Around a month or two after the work was completed, I got contacted by someone saying that they were the brother of Person X. He said that Person X had been involved in an accident and had passed away. Being a stand up guy, the brother said he was willing to take on the debt and pay it off. A few payments came through but much of it I had to keep chasing up, lots of back and forth contact to keep any money flowing back to me.
Up to now around half the debt has now been cleared. Earlier this month I received an email from the brother saying that he will pay off the remainder of the debt in one last lump sum. I replied, great, let me know once it goes through. But nothing came, and my last two emails have now been ignored. My last contact was 2 weeks ago.
At this stage I decided to do some sleuthing. I tracked down Person X on Facebook. While most of his page is locked down and appears to be static, I did manage to glean little bits of information from people who liked parts of his page. Through those likes and connections, I managed to put together an immediate family tree of his mother and siblings. There are some public posts on their Facebook pages, while there are no photos or posts about or from Person X, in an interesting twist, there are likes from our deceased Person X on family photos and posts that have occurred after his unfortunate demise. Also more interestingly, the name of "the brother" does not match any of the names I have been able to identify in his family. As far as I can tell, this brother who has been talking to me is likely fake.
The amount owing is not large enough to be pursued through legal channels, but its large enough that I would like my money eventually. Anyway, I have reason to suspect he is alive and well and has been talking to me through a fake alias. A simple debt (a civil matter) could possibly have turned into fraud (a criminal matter). In which case, it might be worth it for me to report this to the police.
Question to everyone, should I contact the police? Should I try and get some proof that he is indeed still alive? Should I try contact his family members, though I have little else other than Facebook pages. What would you do?
TLDR: Guy owes me money, I think he lied to me about his death and has been communicating to me through a fake alias. Should I go to the police?
Contact the Executor.