Ocean,

My wife used to work at a private mental health practice. About 1 1/2 years ago, the owner was caught in a scam: Apparently, she would charge insurance companies about 20% more than her therapists would actually bill at. When the companies paid, she'd skim off that extra money without anyone knowing, then take her contracted percentage (40 to 60% of the therapists' billing) before finally paying the therapists. She did this to roughly 17 therapists for years... on top of her own weekly client load of about 25 patients, for which she took 100% of billing. And the therapists all charged about $100/50 mins.

So do the math. The woman was living like Queen friggin' Elizabeth!

One company got wind of this and threatened to sue her into oblivion unless she paid back all that money. Do you know that hefer had the NERVE to ask her therapists -- some single parents; others fresh out of grad school -- to help her repay that money by volunteering additional chunks of their pay... up to $250,000!?!?

They got a lawyer, DARED her to try recovering that stolen money from them, threatened to report her to the OTHER insurance companies she'd scammed , left her and opened their own practice. And they're doing just fine.

I say all of this to suggest two things: 1) Some people, especially after getting a taste of money, will sell you up the river to get more... even people you're supposed to be close to; and 2) You can totally survive without that sort of crap. Folk get killed over things like this.

Watch your back, and just look for new doors of opportunity to open. You'll be fine.
[Edited 10/6/06 0:01am]

Saw the solicitor today...he told me if it goes to court ...court costs would be in the vicinity of $50,000.00