Brandon Fradd is a hedge fund manager who previously ran Apollo Medical Partners with a guy named James Melcher. Melcher claims that Fradd cheated him out of $6 million in profits. Fradd claims that Melcher was never owed those profits in the first place, as per their profit-sharing agreement. Initially, Fradd attempted to argue that because his former partner never made a stink about his cut while they were working together, he wasn’t entitled to anything after the fact. When that argument proved unconvincing, he turned to Plan B, the (alleged) forging of a document that conveniently contained “an amendment to the profit agreement [that] undermine Melcher’s claim.”

Unfortunately for Fradd, someone on the other side had to go and call in an “ink expert,” which sent him scrambling to figure out Plan C, in order avoid to the prison sentence that generally comes with forging documents. Let him know what you think. Please consider that he didn’t have much time to come with this:

Fradd said the amendment, which changed the arrangement to cut Melcher’s pay, was legitimate and that he accidentally burned it while making tea, according to court filings…In Tuesday’s ruling, the First Department said it was “troubled” by the purported forgery and burning of the document. “If Melcher’s allegations are proven, the court should impose a monetary sanction,” Richter wrote.

What? That’s how some people make tea.

Appeals courts finds for ex-hedge fund exec vs old partner [Reuters]