Ive recently purchased a business and aci demands i pay the amount that the previous owner owed….is this legal? What should i do?

Depends on your purchase agreement.

But, unlike personal debt, business debt CAN be assumed by the new owners.

Unless you strictly specified that you would not be liable, the business probably is. Sorry.

If the old business owes taxes, you will be liable for that too.

If the owner signed a statement saying there were no outstanding debts, he committed fraud. You could go back and have the deal undone, but you would not be able to keep the company AND it is doubtful the deadbeat will be able to give you your money back.

You need to do two things.

Tell ACI that you need proof of debt, if they don’t agree to send that right away, get their address and send them a certified letter demanding proof of the debt.

Then get you agreement/contract and go and see an attorney.

Good luck. My husband bought a bankrupt business he thought was thriving. We are still struggling to pay off the original debt plus the additional debt we had to take on to keep the doors open.