Philip L. Firetag - Page 10




                                        - 10 -                                         
               With respect to the U.S. District Court account, petitioner             
          has not adduced evidence regarding the terms under which amounts             
          were required to be deposited for bonds written for defendants in            
          U.S. District Court.  In his opening statement, petitioner’s                 
          counsel indicated that deposits equal to 100 percent of the face             
          amount of the bond were required.  Presumably, these amounts were            
          either returned to petitioner when the defendant satisfactorily              
          appeared or forfeited if he did not.  In either case, the                    
          deposited amounts would inure to petitioner’s benefit.  Because              
          petitioner has not come forward with the terms of the U.S.                   
          District Court bonding arrangements, he has failed to carry his              
          burden of proving respondent’s determination erroneous.                      
          In-House Account                                                             
               The in-house account appears, in part, to be an effort by               
          petitioner to set up a reserve for paying potential bond                     
          forfeitures.  In other words, it acts, in part, as a reserve                 
          against contingent liability.  The funds in the in-house account             
          were ultimately disbursed solely for petitioner’s benefit:  To               
          satisfy his obligations by paying bond forfeitures or increasing             
          the amounts on deposit in the Charleston County Court or the U.S.            
          District Court accounts; to pay his business expenses; or to pay             
          himself a “salary”.  As with the Charleston County Court account             
          and presumably with the U.S. District Court account, only two                
          things could happen to the funds in the in-house account:  They              






Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011