Joe, Along with Two Friends, Bought a Peat Bog with the Idea

Essay

Joe, along with two friends, bought a peat bog with the idea of incorporating a corporation and reselling it to promote the development of the peat bog. Joe bought the bog for $40,000 and, when the corporation was incorporated, had himself and his two friends named as directors. They then held a meeting and on the first order of business, they bought the bog from themselves for $500,000. Then they voted to sell all of the shares of the business to five interested businessmen for $500,000, based on the value of the sole asset of the corporation, the peat bog. When the businessmen found out what had happened, they sued Joe and his friends. Explain the nature of the complaint and the likely outcome.