Opinion ID: 2971364
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: A Review of the Government’s Evidence.

Text: Clyde Fisher related that he had received a disability pension from a former employer, General Motors, and was also awarded DIB. JA at 276. Subsequently, he began working at Labadie and receiving Form 1099s with no taxes withheld. The Form 1099 arrangement for payments to Clyde Fisher then changed; and at David Bennett’s suggestion, he was placed on the payroll as Mary Fisher using her Social Security Number. His incriminating testimony follows: Q Did there come a time when Mr. Bennett talked to you about needing to do something regarding paperwork for your full time employment at Labadie? A Yes. Q Tell us how that happened. A Dave came to me and said that we have to do something about this so that the government and Social Security -- THE COURT: Would you just repeat what you said. A Dave Bennett came to me and said that we got to make sure that we pay the government their share of the money and that if we did it this way, I would owe the government a lot of money. Q What way? A The way I was working under the 10 -- it would have been the 1099. Q Okay. Up until that time you were getting 1099s for your work? A Yes. Q And so were taxes withheld from the 1099? A Repeat that, please. Q Do you know whether taxes were being withheld from your 1099 earnings? (Case No. 03-1819) A On a 1099 there’s no taxes held, only at the end of the year you get a form. Q But if you got on the payroll they would start withholding taxes from you? A Yes. Q Now let’s go back to what Mr. Bennett and you talked about; do you remember the exact date when that happened? A Repeat that. Q When Mr. Bennett came to you and said we’ve got to do something different. A Yes. Q Do you remember that exact date? A Not right offhand. Q All right. But where were you when you had this conversation? A In the back of the washroom. Q So you were at the Labadie dealership? A Yes. Q What was it he said to you about what you had to do? A We would have to get it so that we would be able to pay taxes. Q Did he make a reference to Social Security? A Yes. Q What did he say to that? A He said that -- I don’t understand that. Q Do you remember what he said? A Can you rephrase it for me, please. (Case No. 03-1819) Q Yes. Tell us what Mr. Bennett said about Social Security. A He said as long as I was on Social Security and he knew that, that he could -- we would make an application out for my wife. Q Who came up with the idea of making an application out in your wife’s name? A Dave Bennett and I. Q Together? A Yes. Q So you talked about it back and forth? A Yes. Q And in the course of that conversation, there was discussion about Social Security. A Yes. Q And the fact you were already on Social Security? A Right. Q And did you get paperwork so you could go through with this plan of signing you up under Mary Fisher’s name? A Right. Q Who gave you the paperwork? A Dawn. JA at 280-82. Clyde Fisher then recounted taking home the paperwork and having his wife sign the employment application using her Social Security Number. Thereafter, he received pay checks from (Case No. 03-1819) Labadie in the name of Mary Fisher, she endorsed the checks over to Clyde Fisher, and he cashed the checks. Dawn Bukowski, a veteran employee of Labadie, testified that she did payroll during the time of the misrepresentation of Clyde Fisher’s true name and Social Security Number and had access to the employment files. She identified the employment files and the fact that Clyde Fisher was carried on the books of Labadie as Mary Fisher. She also identified the paperwork of Labadie that put Mary Fisher in the Labadie 401(k) program. The approval for the inclusion of Mary Fisher on the 401(k) program contained the signature of David Bennett and the beneficiary for Mary Fisher was identified as Clyde Fisher. Dawn Bukowski was then asked the identity of the person at Labadie who instructed her to place Mary Fisher on the payroll, and she identified David Bennett as that person in the following testimony: Q . . . were you aware of a person by the name of Mary Fisher actually working at Labadie during this time frame? A No. Q And who was working under the name of Mary Fisher? A Clyde Fisher. Q Did you know that when you put Mary Fisher on the payroll? A Yes. Q Who told you to put Clyde Fisher on the payroll as Mary Fisher? A Dave. Q Dave who? A Dave Bennett. (Case No. 03-1819) JA at 227. Dawn Bukowski also testified as to why she did not question the Clyde Fisher-Mary Fisher scheme in the following passage: Q During this time frame, how many people with the last name of Fisher were working at Labadie? A No one else. Q Other than? A Mary or -- or Clyde. Q And who did the hiring and firing at this time? A Dave Bennett did the hiring. Q Did he sometimes do the firing? A Yes. Q Did you see him do that on occasion? A Yes. Q If you knew that Clyde Fisher was working there and the paperwork and paychecks were in Mary Fisher’s name, did that cause you some concern? A Yes. Q What did you do about that? A Nothing. Q Why? A Because I was -- I only did what I was told to do. Q Who was it that told you to do it that way? A Mr. Bennett. (Case No. 03-1819) Q Did you feel you could question Mr. Bennett on that? A No. Q Did you fear consequences if you tried? A Yes. Q What did you fear might be a consequence? A You could get fired. Q Did you ever actually meet Mary Fisher? A Yes. Q What were the circumstances of that? A I don’t remember the very first time I met her, but it could have been at, like, a function, a company picnic, Christmas party. Q In a job related social event? A Yes. Q So you knew there was a separate person named Mary Fisher? A Yes. Q Would Mr. Bennett attend those functions? A Yes. JA at 237-38. The government introduced voluminous exhibits demonstrating that during the time period in question, Clyde Fisher continued to receive DIB exceeding Ninety Thousand Dollars, as well as numerous copies of paychecks to Mary Fisher signed by David Bennett, and the payroll forms maintained by Labadie to pay Mary Fisher, including the relevant W-2 Forms. (Case No. 03-1819) The government also presented the testimony of Jean Toth, a 40-year employee of Labadie and the mother of Dawn Bukowski. Her testimony confirmed that the substitution of Mary Fisher’s name for that of Clyde Fisher as an employee was known by other persons in a supervisory capacity at Labadie. See JA at 260, lines 1-13; JA at 262, line 15 and JA at 263, line 14.