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more than weak circumstantial evidence buttressed by scant
allegations.
Petitioners’ case is not novel. This Court has addressed
similar issues in a number of cases. For the most part, as in
this case, the Court has found against taxpayers on the basis
that they had not proven that the contractors acted with the
requisite intent to constitute a theft crime. See Friedman v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1992-588, affd. without published
opinion 48 F.3d 535 (11th Cir. 1995); Schneider v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo 1981-603; Godine v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1977-393;
Price v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1971-323.
The few cases in which this Court has allowed theft loss
deductions involved contractors who took money from taxpayers
under false pretenses and then either absconded or ceased
construction and used the money for purposes not related to the
construction agreement. See Norton v. Commissioner, 40 T.C. 500
(1963), affd. 333 F.2d 1005 (9th Cir. 1964); Miller v.
Commissioner, 19 T.C. 1046 (1953); see also Hartley v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1977-317. Mr. Green did not take
petitioners’ money and run. To the contrary, although the
quality of the construction was not what petitioners had
bargained for, Mr. Green completed the job and made some repairs.
The circumstantial evidence does not demonstrate that Mr. Green
ever intended to defraud petitioners. Nor is our conclusion
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