I'm sorry but if your friend spent $80k on a development company and didn't do enough due dil to ensure that the company he was spending all of that money with

I'm sorry but if your friend spent $80k on a development company and didn't do enough due dil to ensure that the company he was spending all of that money with wasn't outsourcing it - that's on him. There are a dozen basic things he could have done in order to ensure that he wasn't stiffed. Off the top of my head: - Visiting the offices meeting the team, including those people specifically assigned to his project - Requesting staged payments so he pays as phases are met and not prior to receiving any deliverables - Checking the contract to ensure there's no mention of outsourcing. Did he even check the contract at all? - Getting references from former customers to ensure the validity of any claims made by the development firm - Searching online for feedback and reviews about the firm - Just asking questions in general. "Where is my app going to be developed and who by?" seems like an obvious one before you spend nearly a hundred thousand dollars Edit: Looking at your post history you seem to be associated with a software development company. Did you not speak with your friend about his decision to spend an extraordinary amount on a development project ahead of him getting in this mess?