Do you think i can sue for my money?

[Zigner]

The reply was from Tax Counsel on the other site. It's the only reply you received.

 

[quincy]

Can you send me the link to read?

We tend not to promote other websites on this forum. FreeAdvice is a business, with business interests that preclude advertising competitor sites.

 

[LdiJ]

I'll try to respond to this as best as I can. I didn't hire her. A club promoting company hired her but could not issue her the checks. So she wanted me to sign on and pay her. I honestly didn't know that you couldn't do that. Since another girl we both knew who was also from India did the same job under her boyfriends name. I know that means nothing in court. I think I understand what you are saying.

That the company hired me and it will look like I paid someone under the table to do the work.

Officially the company did hire you and officially you did pay someone under the table to do the work. It is not a question of how it looks, it is officially what happened. The fact that she talked you into doing it does not change the facts of the matter. That is the reason why you cannot do anything to pursue her for the money. The only way that you could sue her would be to admit in court that you did something illegal. That could get you in a world of hurt and would be a really foolish thing to do. You are going to have to live with the consequences of your mistake.

 

[LdiJ]

I disagree that the company is not at risk of penalties for hiring an unauthorized noncitizen worker. JakylaLi indicated that the employer has done this more than once.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/110-unlawful-discrimination-and-penalties-for-prohibited-practices/118-penalties-for-prohibited-practices#:~:text=Unlawful Employment Civil Penalties,work in the United States.

The company did not hire an unauthorized worker. The company hired the OP as a contractor. The OP in turn hired the illegal worker. Don't get me wrong, what the company did was reprehensible but it doesn't change the fact that they were clever about it and didn't actually hire anyone illegally.

 

[zddoodah]

Your post is quite convoluted (not sure why your friend getting a son is relevant), but I think what you MIGHT be saying is that you and your friend and her employer made an arrangement whereby your friend's compensation for working as an independent contractor was paid to you instead of to her. As a result, her employer sent you a 1099, so you have $X more in taxable income than you should have. You appear to have retained $Y to cover the additional tax liability, but it's not clear from your post whether $Y is more or less than your actual additional tax liability. You wrote that "[t]he taxes came up to $1000 , but she had only paid $200," but it's not clear whether that $200 includes or is in addition to the amount you retained from some of the checks.

If that's true, then what you described was quasi-contractual in nature. However, as "Tax Counsel" pointed out (at the other site where you posted about this), this was almost certainly an illegal scheme, so you're not likely to be able to sue successfully.

I agree that, if you're not willing to eat this, you should at least consult with an attorney. However, one solution might be for your friend to get herself an SSN or ITIN and ask that the employer re-issue the 1099 to her instead of you.

 

[quincy]

JakylaLi, did the employer send you a 1099?

Also, when you said your friend “finally got a son,” did you mean SSN instead of son?

The attorney you see this week should be able to help you with this.