Legal Question in Business Law in California

You have to go to some place like Abu Dhabi or Thailand to find a jurisdiction that makes breach of contract a crime. Breach of contract, except in VERY exceptional circumstances is not even a tort.

Breach of contract is not a tort, but you do have a civil remedy in that you can file a lawsuit to collect the money you believe that you are owed. Unless the contract is explicitly illegal like someone contracting without a license, the police will be very reluctant to get involved at all.

The term tort is a broad term for most types of civil claims that do not involve a contract. If someone negligently hits you with their car, that is a tort. Defamation is a tort and so is punching someone in the face.

Even in the good ol' United States, it may be possible for someone to do an act or omission that simultaneously breaches a contract and is chargeable as a crime. However, (a) the prosecution of crimes is left to the district attorney, not private parties, and (b) what you describe has neither the hallmarks of a crime nor a tort.

I recommend that you consult with a local business-law attorney as to your potential remedies, including whether you should serve a Notice of Dispute on the client, which apparently is what you should do to kick off an arbitration.

Also, what are your contacts at the client company telling you? Are they dissatisfied with your services, or your billing procedures? Are they having a cash crisis? Knowing more about their reasons for nonpayment would be useful, going forward.

Breach of contract is a cause of action, and is not a tort or a crime in and of itself. You would need other elements to prove fraud, which is a tort and can be a crime.