 Beginning in December 1902, the company faced mounting legal and financial issues after one of the partners admitted to having fraudulently sold stock in a mine.More issues arose in 1904, after the British government formed two separate royal commission to investigate Bewick, Moreing's labor practices and financial dealings in Western Australia.After the company lost a suit Hoover began looking for a way to get out of the partnership, and he sold his shares in mid-1908.