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MMI’s business ledger corroborates the fact that petitioners
continued to receive funds from MMI after respondent issued MMI
the August 15, 1978, notice of levy. MMI kept two accounts, and
MMI’s incomplete ledger, attached to the September 22, 1991,
letter between petitioners’ attorney David Shaughnessy and MMI’s
attorney Edward Rothman, indicates that one account is for the
$1,500 payments to respondent and the other account is for
payments to petitioners. MMI’s business ledger covers a period
from November 1978 to February 1979. MMI debited approximately
$340,000 on petitioners’ account after the August 15, 1978,
notice of levy. MMI also credited petitioners’ account with
approximately $420,000 for the same period.
In United States v. Barlow’s, Inc., 767 F.2d 1098 (4th Cir.
1985), the court found that the Commissioner’s failure to take
action against the third-party debtor after it defaulted on its
liability to the Commissioner weighed against the Commissioner.
In Cash v. United States, 961 F.2d at 567, the court held that
the Commissioner was not required to sell an account receivable
and could seek to collect the account receivable on his own,
which is what respondent sought to do in the instant case. See
also secs. 6332(a), 6335(f). Petitioners concede that respondent
did not abandon the collection of the account receivable.
Respondent was not able to reach MMI’s funds from the start of
MMI’s bankruptcy in March 1979 until the bankruptcy court ordered
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