Chapter 32 - The IRS Comes Knocking
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The garage incident was the final nail in Daniel Mercer's coffin.
Because he violated a domestic violence restraining order while committing criminal stalking, his bail was permanently revoked. But his nightmare was only beginning.
Two days after his arrest, three federal agents from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division walked into the county jail holding room.
Julian Vance and I sat behind the one-way glass mirror in the observation room, watching the interrogation.
Agent Ramirez set a three-inch thick binder on the steel table in front of Daniel.
"Mr. Mercer," Agent Ramirez said, his voice flat and terrifyingly calm. "For the past three tax years, you attempted to hide offshore holdings in the Cayman Islands while claiming low-income tax exemptions on your federal tax filings."
Daniel stared at the binder, his face pale and swollen. "I... I never accessed that money! I didn't get any payouts!"
"Attempting to hide offshore accounts with intent to defraud the United States government is a federal class-C felony, Mr. Mercer," Agent Ramirez corrected him smoothly. "Furthermore, we have record of three fraudulent wire transfer attempts using forged signatures."
"My mother told me to do it!" Daniel blurted out, breaking down into hysterical sobs. "It was Vivian! She was the one who forged the papers! She made me do everything!"
In the observation room, Julian turned to look at me with a grim expression.
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"He just threw his own mother under a federal bus," Julian noted quietly.
"A coward always looks for a shield, Julian," I replied, watching Daniel weep onto the metal interrogation table. "He used me as his shield for four years. Now he's using her."
