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malicious arrest and injustice

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mking5

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NY

A friend of mine has been arrested for embezzlement. She started working for this guy as an all around office clerk and took over as bookkeeper also when the original bookkeeper left. Having no real understanding of bookkeeping or business finance, she was really unaware that things he told her to do were basically illegal. This guy would have her go to the bank and cash large checks as well as other unscrupulous things too numerous to list. When the bank manager warned her that this didn't look good, she began to question her boss and he responded, 'I'll just blame it on you.' She is a single mom who really needed the job.

I found out about this because she asked me about some of the things he was doing, such as giving her his ATM card to withdraw cash, etc. I am a bookkeeper so I know how crooked this guy is based on what she told me. I and others convinced her to leave and now he has made good his threat and has charged her with all the things he really did! The thing that amazes me is that with all the money he says she stole, why is it that her little house is mortgaged to the hilt, and on his very meager salary (as reported) he sits with a tremendous custom multi-million dollar house on the beach as well as several vacation homes - boggles my mind. Maybe his friends chipped in and built it for free?

He has deposited business income in his personal (non-interest bearing) checking accounts, and has also performed some magic tricks on his payroll so as to avoid payroll taxes. I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. He now has a lien on her house so she can't even pay a lawyer. I believe her public defender may not be all that aggressive in handling this. I, and many of her friends, have suggested going to the IRS.

It seems to me that the lawyer she had before (and subsequently could not afford) was leaning toward her making a deal because she couldn't afford the legal fees! Wouldn't going to the IRS stop this guy dead in his tracks? Are there any places she can go that would help her at least with some advice? This seems so unfair and we really want to help her (unfortunately we can't help financially), but it's easy for us to be all up in arms about the injustice going on here. In reality the good guy doesn't always win, and she is very scared. It almost seems that the truth won't even have a chance to come out. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
 


mking5

Junior Member
She does have a public defender now, but it seems that the lawyer is not all that familiar with white collar crime maybe. I don't know or they just don't like going to trial. I think if they did, this guy would have a hard time answering questions.
 

outonbail

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? NY

A friend of mine has been arrested for embezzlement. She started working for this guy as an all around office clerk and took over as bookkeeper also when the original bookkeeper left. Having no real understanding of bookkeeping or business finance, she was really unaware that things he told her to do were basically illegal.
What was it that she was doing on his orders, that was illegal?
This guy would have her go to the bank and cash large checks as well as other unscrupulous things too numerous to list.
Cashing large checks for the owner of the company is not illegal. Filling them out to herself and forging his name is, but you haven't described any illegal activity yet.

When the bank manager warned her that this didn't look good, she began to question her boss and he responded, 'I'll just blame it on you.' She is a single mom who really needed the job.
What didn't look good? Was she cashing these checks at her bank against her personal account, or the bank the company does business with? Who wrote and signed the checks? What did she do with the cash?
Stating she is a single mom, who really needed the job, is the same as saying, "She really needed the money!" so, maybe she did skim a little moolah for herself? Maybe she's not as "unaware" as you believe?
I found out about this because she asked me about some of the things he was doing, such as giving her his ATM card to withdraw cash, etc. I am a bookkeeper so I know how crooked this guy is based on what she told me.
Ah yes, based on what she told you. If she asked about some things, then she had some knowledge of what was going on. Giving someone else you're atm card and pin number to withdraw cash isn't illegal, it's stupid. Maybe she was just getting nervous and these things she was telling you were actually her way of laying the foundation towards her ultimate plan on you, which was to pass the blame like a hot potato and see who's willing to swallow it, then make adjustments accordingly.
Personally, I haven't met a thief yet who told the truth about their underhanded and illegal activities. They all have someone else they can point out and try to pass the blame off to.

I and others convinced her to leave and now he has made good his threat and has charged her with all the things he really did!
Yes, that's what you need to post, the things he really did and then blamed on her.
The thing that amazes me is that with all the money he says she stole, why is it that her little house is mortgaged to the hilt, and on his very meager salary (as reported) he sits with a tremendous custom multi-million dollar house on the beach as well as several vacation homes - boggles my mind.
Her house being mortgaged to the hilt doesn't prove her innocence, in fact, it may have the exact opposite effect you're trying to convey, as this fact actually provides her with a motive to the crime she's charged with.

Maybe his friends chipped in and built it for free?
Maybe, but either way, it doesn't prove she's innocent, just shows he's a likely target for someone looking to scam money.

He has deposited business income in his personal (non-interest bearing) checking accounts, and has also performed some magic tricks on his payroll so as to avoid payroll taxes.
If it is his business, he has every right to deposit checks into his own account. If he were trying to hide the money, depositing it in his personal account would be stupid as there would be a paper trail leading right to him. You'll have to define these "magic tricks" before anyone can determine whether they were legal transactions, suspicious in nature or otherwise.
I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. He now has a lien on her house so she can't even pay a lawyer. I believe her public defender may not be all that aggressive in handling this. I, and many of her friends, have suggested going to the IRS.
Do what you want, but I suggest you should first look for an opportunity to review all the facts, before you go getting you're friend in even more trouble that she's already facing.

It seems to me that the lawyer she had before (and subsequently could not afford) was leaning toward her making a deal because she couldn't afford the legal fees!
She couldn't afford the fees, or she was guilty in the eyes of her attorney?
Wouldn't going to the IRS stop this guy dead in his tracks?
Not if he's actually the victim that the courts apparently believes he is.
Are there any places she can go that would help her at least with some advice?
You mean like the attorney who tried to encourage her to make a deal?

This seems so unfair and we really want to help her (unfortunately we can't help financially), but it's easy for us to be all up in arms about the injustice going on here. In reality the good guy doesn't always win, and she is very scared. It almost seems that the truth won't even have a chance to come out. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
I don't know. These paper trails aren't that hard to follow, so I don't see how she would have been arrested and already had liens placed on her home if this guy is as guilty of illegal activity as your friend claims him to be. Of course you're post doesn't include anything that her boss did which would be considered illegal, so I don't know what to make of it. I'm not claiming you're friend is definitely guilty, but it may be what the truth holds. You're convinced she did nothing wrong, but it doesn't sound like anyone else you've mentioned, holds this same opinion.

Again, there needs to be factual information posted, better describing the transactions in question, before anyone can offer advice for you're friend. But if I'm reading you're post correctly, two separate lawyers have now suggested that she settle her case by taking a deal. This tells me there's more to the story than you're friend has led you to believe.
 

mking5

Junior Member
First, thank you for taking the time to address all these points. I didn't get specific because I thought my post was getting too long. Anyway, this guy has a corporation with his name as part of the corp name. His clients made checks out to his name without putting the corp, so he simply put it into his own account. He made sure it was non interest bearing so as not to be visible to the IRS. He has no right to do that because he is not reporting corp income or personal income. I believe that is tax evasion. He had her go to his bank and cash checks from his personal account. The bank always verified it with him so, yes, there is a paper trail to follow. It was the bank manager that warned her about this. All they have to do is to find him. (It is pretty unlikely that she would be able to set up an account for him and deposit company money into it.)

All these issues have a paper trail, and as I went with her to the first lawyer, he said he believed her and that the guy was crooked as the day was long, but she needed a forensic accountant to follow the trails and that cost money. She has all kinds of information, but it seems the truth is tangled up in the legal proceedings and stifled by economics.

One thing she said was that the payroll checks he made out to his workers were sometimes made out, 'cashed' by him to give to employees and then voided afterward to avoid payroll taxes. This way he could give them net pay instead of gross were he to actually pay them off the books. Many people don't check their w-2 at the end of the year to see if it underreports income.

A large portion of his personal expenses were paid out of the business and I know these are not allowable business expenses. He is in the type of business where he could actually build a house and have the business pay for much of the materials and labor. He had phony tax returns prepared to get a mortgage to finance some of it. His reported income would have been way too low. Isn't that bank fraud? She has nothing to gain from this.

She purchased her house from her mother and, on top of the mortgage, was paying her over time. This was long after these incidents so if she would have had that much cash laying around, she wouldn't have to do that. In the meantime, she has been living a very modest life in comparison to him jet-setting around the world with his girlfriend. Would people actually believe that his expenditures are financed by enormous gifts while she has nothing to show for this? Her income matches her lifestyle - his does not.

The fact is, though, that he gets to tell his story for free and she does not. I know I wasn't there to see these things first hand, but she has nothing to show for this and he does. I've known her for many years and have never seen any sign that she had extra money. I feel that he is counting on her not being able to defend herself. Maybe the IRS or someone is after him already and that's why he's doing this, I don't know. Or it could be a kind of 'the best defense is a good offense' kind of thing. It's just that she is sometimes very eager to push forward to trial because he would be found out, but after talking to her lawyer, she begins to feel disillusioned about winning even if she is in the right.

Her previous lawyer said he would go after the guy if she had the money. I don't know if this public defender will do that. How do you know when a lawyer is giving you the right advice to take a deal or if they just don't want to put the effort into going to trial?

I forgot - the ATM thing started after the bank warned her about what looked like money laundering. I guess taking money out in smaller amounts looked better. How many business owners would give an employee their ATM & pin and never ever notice or even look for how much money is being withdrawn?
 
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