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1994 ERG issued eight $1,000 checks payable to Esther.34 Esther
did not file Federal income tax returns for 1988 through and
including 1993.
Check to Esther V. Benson
In 1994, Burton took an uncashed check for $12,000 that ERG
had issued to Esther prior to May 1988, altered the date on the
check to indicate a date in August 1994, and deposited the check
into a bank account in September 1994 shortly after his mother’s
death.35 The bank account into which the check was deposited was
held in the names of Burton and his mother as joint tenants.
33(...continued)
$1,000 checks were deposited into an account owned by Esther and
Burton. Indeed, the documentary evidence in the record contains
a bank statement for the Esther/Burton account which shows eleven
$1,000 deposits made in 1993. Additionally, the record contains
copies of eleven $1,000 checks, one of which was apparently,
erroneously deposited into an account owned by Elizabeth and
Burton. Arguably, then, there must have been twelve $1,000
checks issued to Esther, eleven of which were deposited into the
Esther/Burton account and one of which was deposited into the
Elizabeth/Burton account.
34The parties stipulated that ERG issued eight $1,000 checks
to Esther, but the issuing bank was unable to locate a copy of
one check. However, the parties also stipulated that ERG did not
file Form 1099 with respect to the $9,000 paid to Esther. We are
unable to resolve the seeming inconsistency and ascribe a
scrivener’s error to the latter stipulation.
35Burton testified that the check represented director’s
fees, and after his mother died he found the check uncashed among
her papers. He changed the date on the check because he believed
it would be rejected due to its age if negotiated.
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