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for either Trojan Management or Columbia Cleaning in 1998.6
Furthermore, in their capacity as payroll agents, they did not
independently verify whether petitioner performed services for
Premium Fresh Juice but issued paychecks to her based solely on
payroll information provided to them by Mr. Bennett. As
explained by the president of Trojan Management: “Mr. Bennett
asked us to put Ms. Bennett on our payroll, and the juice company
would reimburse us, plus pay us our profit that we normally
charge for such services”.
The paychecks were deposited into joint bank accounts
belonging to petitioner and Mr. Bennett at Bank of America and
Mercantile National Bank. Petitioner had signatory authority on
these joint accounts. Petitioner examined the paychecks and
stated that the endorsement signatures were not hers. Respondent
admitted that there was a “substantial question about whether
[the endorsements were] petitioner’s signature”.
In addition to the joint bank accounts, petitioner
maintained a separate bank account at Bank of America in 1998.
Petitioner kept a modest combined balance in standard checking
and regular savings accounts ranging from a combined balance of
approximately $600 to $3,641. Petitioner also maintained
6 The function of payroll agent was explained at trial by
the president of Trojan Management: “Trojan Management provided
payroll services, where we prepared payroll checks, payroll tax
deposits, for Mr. Bennett’s company, Premium Fresh Juice.”
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