Additionally and worse yet, with a judgement for a civil case in which my actions (recording of a contract) were found to be malicious, the damages could then attach to me through the state. 

The commingling is exactly what I'm looking to avoid as I know that makes it much easier to pierce the corporate veil in the event of litigation.

@Glenn TracyIf your waiting doesn't get all of your money back, you can file a civil suit against your former friend. 

AR and PA and CA to mention a few will have what is called a litigation period that the property owner will have as a time frame to contest the sale in case it was an erroneous sale. 

The biggest concern without something in writing would be for her to claim a "life estate" and you subsequently having to litigate

and the turnaround time is amazing.Gary also mentioned to me that he is a civil/structural engineer by training so he offers a lot of insight regarding structural issues. 

I've got the time and hustle and would like to find a partner on a small(er) project.I am a civil engineer by school and worked as a project manager for a civil contracting firm before now working for a commercial general contractor, managing projects typically between $10-30 M.

You could do a civil law suit but I would see if the fees to do so would be worth it first.

Those guys are for advanced disputes with the IRS that could lead to litigation.

Most scam artists aren't going to stick around long enough to generate high post and vote counts, since most of them depend on a "stick and move" strategy to avoid detection or civil/legal trouble.