verbal agreement

Me and my friends (2 of them) have agreed to put up a money changing business, verbally. the first agreement was the other one will gave 10,000.00 US dollar equivalent to 46 pesos per dollar at that time, the other one would gave 350,000.00 pesos as their suppose share for the business. My share will be 350,000.00 also. Now, all their suppose share did not materialized. When we get the business permit it is on my name as sole proprietorship because they didn't have anything to share for the business. For myself i was able to get in some investors. All these money from the investors contracted by me alone. I even issued my personal check for the money they invested. Somehow, I still retain them (my friends)thinking that they might contribute later on, but to no avail. I even gave them an equal share of the profit as what I have promised them during the formation of the business. But enough is enough, I don't want to gave them an equal share anymore but rather a salary for that matter. Now they sue me for stafa because they are claiming their suppose share of the profit which I deliberately failed to deliver to them as they alleged. Is their any reason to file a case against me? It's my own money. The other one is claiming to be an industrial partner. please i need your comment.

you cannot stop them from filing cases against you, but it seems from your narrative that they don't have any evidence of your arrangement either.

do you mean they have actually filed a complaint at the prosecutor's office?

Yes, they have already filed a complaint at the prosecutor's office. They are claiming that verbal contract is enough to acknowledge them as business partners. Is that possible since from the start they are the one who breach the agreement?. So, my question is am i bounded by what they are saying? Is the other one can be considered an industrial partner?

i recommend that you acquire legal representation to prepare your counter affidavit.

but a partnership can exist through a verbal agreement, but makes it difficult to prove.

nevertheless, since the business is registered as a single proprietorship, it will be their burden to show that a partnership actually existed. i would focus on this as your defense.

Thanks po Atty. Since it involved not so much money around 150K me and my wife wants to settle the claims, even though we know this is not right and against our will- just to get-away those tedious process of litigation, can I still be charged with stafa?

not if you enter into a settlement. estafa is one of the crimes which allow settlement.