You have enemies when you have a business, but you shouldn’t take your money man for granted. As rightly said by someone, even the mob keeps their accountant happy.
A Redditor shared a friend’s story on a popular forum and said you should always pay your accountant, especially if you’ve got skeletons in your closet.
Please read the entire story because it is an act of pro-revenge.
Backstory:
The original Poster’s (OP) friend is an accountant, and he owns a firm. His clients are small to medium-sized businesses, including Scott (the one he took revenge on).
He had a client who owned four clubs/bars in two cities. The client was shady, always slow on payment, and so. OP was also a customer of one of the bars. They had poker games that OP would play on Thursdays.
One day OP was at his friend’s house and was having a few beers. OP’s friend started talking about non-payment from a client. OP asked who, but he refused to take the client’s name. But it was bugging him because it was a significant chunk of money. The friend then said that his name was Scott.
What Happened Next?
The friend shared that Scott claimed the business was significantly declining, so he could not pay. OP found this strange, as OP personally frequented one of Scott’s establishments and noticed that it was always packed on Thursdays. When OP mentioned this to his friend, he seemed surprised and asked for more information. OP explained that Scott had implemented a new policy of offering a 15% discount for customers who paid in cash.
OP told him about his experience at Scott’s bar, and eventually, the topic changed.
What Did OP’s Friend Do Next?
A few weeks later, OP’s friend called him up and asked if OP was going to Scott’s bar to play poker. OP said yes, and his friend asked if he could join OP. OP agreed. OP’s friend joined and got a few drinks. They lost their money at poker, and OP’s house was closer, so his friend decided to crash there. On the way over, he breaks down his theory to OP.
The friend thought Scott was vastly underreporting his revenue, so he suspected Scott was offering a cash discount, which is easier to hide. He said he would do a deep dive into Scott’s finances.
OP’s friend told OP that he planned to go to all four of Scott’s establishments and get the prices he charges at each place. He would then piece together how much alcohol he was buying versus how much Scott was saying his revenue equates to. He accessed information regarding Scott’s payroll, rent, bills, and other expenses, as he had the necessary access.
Read: From Yaay To Nay: 10 Biggest Money Mistakes That People Have Made
What Did OP’s Friend Find?
After examining Scott’s financial records, which included credit card receipts and some cash transactions, he concluded that Scott was using the funds to cover various business expenses such as rent, payroll, insurance, liquor, and food. However, based on the sales volume, he suspected Scott was underreporting his total income by approximately 35%-40%.
He goes into Scott’s books even more and figures out that since last year, Scott has been underreporting his sales by 35%-40%, but he’s also been underreporting his sales by at least 20%-25% for years on end.
It seemed implausible that Scott was using up as much product and alcohol as he’s been purchasing while also claiming the revenue numbers he reported to his accountant. It appeared that he was underreporting his sales to the accountant.
Which means he was also underreporting his earnings to the IRS. By then, Scott owes OP’s friend thousands of dollars he still needs to pay. OP’s friend said his total amount owed could buy a brand-new motorcycle but never shared the number with OP.
Read: Don’t Get Duped: 10 Biggest Rip-offs That You Are Continuously Buying
What Did He Plan To Take Revenge?
Upon realizing the extent of Scott’s underreporting of revenue, OP’s friend chose not to pursue repayment from Scott and instead decided to submit a claim to the IRS whistleblower program. He estimated that Scott had underreported millions of dollars in revenue over several years.
The potential whistleblower fees he could earn from the IRS would far outweigh the amount Scott owed him. The IRS typically pays 15-30% of the total amount they collect due to a whistleblower’s tip.
With the assistance of a lawyer, OP’s friend gathered all the evidence he had of Scott’s under-reporting to the IRS and filed a whistleblower report with the IRS. During that time, OP’s friend fired Scott as a client for non-payment, which went back and forth.
After OP’s friend reported Scott’s underreporting of income to the IRS, the agency conducted an investigation and found that Scott had underreported his income by around $4.5 million. Although OP’S friend did not disclose the amount that the IRS could recoup, it resulted in Scott losing ownership of his businesses.
According to OP, the potential whistleblower reward for OP’s friend could have been between $675k-$1.3 million, depending on the amount that the IRS collected, as the reward was based on the amount collected by the IRS, not just the amount that was reported.
When OP asked his friend how much he received as a whistleblower reward, he said that he no longer has a mortgage and that it would have been more cost-effective for Scott to pay him instead of facing the consequences of underreporting his income to the IRS.
What do you think? Was OP appropriate in reporting it to the IRS? Was there any other way you would have handled this?
This article originally appeared on Mrs Daaku Studio.