“Furthermore, we have found that Arthur Vance colluded in this scheme.”

“He signed off on fraudulent valuations of the restaurant assets, allowing Gavin to secure millions of dollars in personal loans against company property.”

“These loans were then defaulted on, and the money was moved to the shell companies.”

“What is the total amount of the theft, Mr. Mercer?” the prosecutor asked.

“We have documented sixteen point eight million dollars in stolen assets,” Daniel said.

A low murmur rippled through the gallery.

I looked at Arthur. His face was completely white, his eyes fixed on the floor.

“And is there evidence of an imminent flight risk?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes,” Daniel said, pulling a smaller document from his jacket pocket.

“Just six hours ago, a wire transfer of four million dollars was initiated from one of the offshore accounts to a bank in Switzerland.”

“We also found two sets of false passports registered in Gavin and Arthur’s names during a search of their private safe box.”

Gavin suddenly stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the linoleum floor.