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Epic Fail - Epic Win. I guess it depends on you which side you're on.

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  • Epic Fail - Epic Win. I guess it depends on you which side you're on.

    If this doesn't belong here, feel free to move it. This is my first story and centers on my brother. Apologies for the length.

    My brother worked as the accountant/controller for a company back home. The company had recently filed for bankruptcy and he'd worked hard with suppliers to get their supplies and keep things running. After several months, the company was doing well.

    The owner decided that he needed an office manager, so chose someone we will call Bob. Bob didn't particularly like my brother and actively began working my brother against the owner. This usually entailed him telling the owner about problems my brother was causing. The owner would get all torqued out of shape, come down on my brother, my brother would explain what was going on and the owner would see the light and all would be well. The owner really was a good guy, but he couldn't grasp the concept that Bob was trying to get my brother out of the office.

    Finally, my brother had had enough and found another job.

    Less than a year later he gets a call from the owner asking him to come, look over the books. Apparently they had a $4,000 check bounce even though they'd just had a huge deposit and the owner couldn't figure out why.

    So my brother does a little forensic accounting and finds out that Bob has withdrawn $148,000 in the previous six months. This includes checks made out to himself that he cashed mostly at the local casino.

    Needless to say, Bob no longer had a job. The owner offered my brother his position back. After some deliberation, he took the job even though this put the company in a very precarious position.

    As they're trying to figure out how to deal with the missing $148,000 they consult a lawyer who says that while they can sue Bob, and they'd win, the money is gone and they won't be getting it back. My brother thinks about that and then asks a question which makes the lawyer and owner laugh.

    He went back to the office and issued a 1099 to Bob for $148,000. He said that they may not get their money back, but the government was going to get theirs. The kicker is that this occurred over two calendar years so Bob didn't hit the FICA limit on either year meaning that the entire amount was taxable.

    He doesn't know what happened to Bob, but company wasn't able to overcome the loss. They tried many cost saving measures. My brother even told them that they couldn't afford to pay his salary and stay in business so he was 'fired' and went in a couple of hours a week and did their books, but ultimately the company was forced to cease operations.
    I'd tell you where to go, but I work there and I don't want to see you everyday.

    My photo blog.

  • #2
    Well, wasn't it Al Capone that finally got put in jail - for tax evasion, cause they couldn't get him on anything else?

    That guy may escape the cops, the FBI and even karma, but I doubt he'll escape the IRS, LOL.

    Your brother has a logic I admire .

    Madness takes it's toll....
    Please have exact change ready.

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    • #3
      Yeah, Bob's going down.

      Life has taught me that you can get away with a lot of things, provided you have the money or know the right people, but screw the goverment out of their cut, and God help you.
      The customer is always right, but this is a public house, and you are a guest.

      Comment


      • #4
        I'd love to hear updates on this. I hope you are able to get them. I'm sure that Bob will be going away for a while.
        "Life is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid" Redd Foxx as Al Royal - The Royal Family - Pilot Episode - 1991.

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth Merriweather View Post
          Well, wasn't it Al Capone that finally got put in jail - for tax evasion, cause they couldn't get him on anything else?

          That guy may escape the cops, the FBI and even karma, but I doubt he'll escape the IRS, LOL.

          Your brother has a logic I admire .
          I believe my brother said, "You screw with me, fine. You screw with my company, you screw with my family."

          Quoth Victory Sabre View Post
          I'd love to hear updates on this. I hope you are able to get them. I'm sure that Bob will be going away for a while.
          I will ask him when I talk to him tonight, but this was several years ago and he has told me every time I ask that they've lost track of Bob.
          I'd tell you where to go, but I work there and I don't want to see you everyday.

          My photo blog.

          Comment


          • #6
            Why wasn't Bob arrested for embezzlement?

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth strawbabies View Post
              Why wasn't Bob arrested for embezzlement?
              I gotta ask that as well...

              Comment


              • #8
                According to my brother, the prosecutor wasn't real interested in pursuing it because it was a fairly low level crime and he had bigger fish to fry. So to speak.

                The company could have pursued it, but because of the industry they're in they were concerned that if word got out, it could open them up to all sorts of liability. In addition, because there was a low likelihood of recovering the money the owner decided that taking him to court would be a waste of money.

                My brother figured that since they weren't going to get the money back the least they could do is make sure that something happened to him so he didn't get away entirely freely.
                I'd tell you where to go, but I work there and I don't want to see you everyday.

                My photo blog.

                Comment


                • #9
                  That makes sense, expecially wasting time chasing after an empty pot. What's the point of winning if there's nothing to collect, except giving Bob a criminal record which he's probably got anyway...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I gotta ask " whats a 1099?"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I'm sure someone can explain it better than I can, but a 1099 for is a tax form issued by a business to independent contractors, among other things. It can be issued for other reasons such as debt cancellation or receiving interest payments. (For example, if you open a bank account where they deposit money into your account for opening it, you'll get a 1099-INT since it is counted as interest.) I'm not sure which he issued.

                      The business is not required to withhold taxes and that burden is passed off to the receiver of the 1099.


                      Update: Not really much of an update. My brother doesn't know what happened with the IRS or what he is doing.
                      Last edited by Antares; 07-10-2012, 08:41 PM.
                      I'd tell you where to go, but I work there and I don't want to see you everyday.

                      My photo blog.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Antares View Post
                        I'm sure someone can explain it better than I can, but *snip*
                        Not a bad explanation.

                        Unfortunately, with the company going out of business, Bob probably got way with it. He would challenge the 1099 as fraudulent, and with no one to provide the backing evidence...

                        On the other hand, the IRS probably took a closer look at Bob's finances. Good chance they may have found some other dirt.
                        Life is too short to not eat popcorn.
                        Save the Ales!
                        Toys for Tots at Rooster's Cafe

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          It's a tax form you give someone when you hire them for something. Say I do yard work for you for $1000, you'd send me one of those to file with my taxes.

                          (That's how it works as far as I know)
                          My Guide to Oblivion

                          "I resent the implication that I've gone mad, Sprocket."

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth csquared View Post
                            Not a bad explanation.

                            Unfortunately, with the company going out of business, Bob probably got way with it. He would challenge the 1099 as fraudulent, and with no one to provide the backing evidence...

                            On the other hand, the IRS probably took a closer look at Bob's finances. Good chance they may have found some other dirt.
                            I need correct something regarding the original post. The company is still in business, though under a different name. I think they were bought out, but I'm not sure. I'll get the details when I talk to him next.
                            I'd tell you where to go, but I work there and I don't want to see you everyday.

                            My photo blog.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Update on the business: They managed to hang on for another 14 months but shutdown. They were bought out by another company and reopened at the same address. The original owner still works for the new company at the same address.

                              I encouraged my brother to register. He did just now with the username, 'dalek' He will be able to provide further insight and information on this.

                              Unfortunately, I will not be able to post his exploits now.
                              I'd tell you where to go, but I work there and I don't want to see you everyday.

                              My photo blog.

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