Opinion ID: 78296
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Events at Chaplin's and Midtown

Text: The second series of events relevant to this appeal occurred at two other jewelry stores in Atlanta, Chaplin's and Midtown. Chaplin's and Midtown were incorporated separately, but shared common elements. The two companies had related owners Seher co-owned Midtown and his brother Parseg owned Chaplin's. [6] Seher had official positions at bothVice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary at Midtown and Secretary at Chaplin's. Chaplin's also made most of the jewelry for Midtown, and workers at Midtown would fill in for absent employees at Chaplin's. During 2005 and 2006, IRS Special Agent James Perkins met with Seher on multiple occasions at both Chaplin's and Midtown. Perkins bought several expensive pieces of jewelry from Seher under the pretense of being a narcotics trafficker. Perkins testified that Seher acted strangely when they negotiated prices. For instance, Seher repeatedly would stop speaking whenever the situation called for him to quote a particular price and instead would write the amount down on some paper, which he would immediately rip into shreds. The prices that Seher would write down also were not the actual prices but instead had a zero removed, such as $2200 instead of $22,000, so that the figures never exceeded $10,000. A similar practice occurred whenever Seher would state the price orally. Perkins first met Seher on 28 April 2005, when he entered Chaplin's with Kim Hubbard, the wife of a major Atlanta drug dealer. The previous day, Ms. Hubbard had called Chaplin's to arrange a meeting with Seher. Perkins' goal was to purchase a set of wedding rings for more than $10,000 cash without having to complete any governmental forms. Upon entering Chaplin's, Perkins and Ms. Hubbard unexpectedly encountered a friend of Ms. Hubbard's who attempted to assist them with the purchase. Soon afterward, Seher began to help all three of them. Perkins intimated to Seher that he was involved in an illegal business, noted that Seher pretty much know the realm that we in, and discussed peeping the game, a reference to the drug business. Gov. Exh. 5 at 36, 40. After Perkins selected a ring, Seher proposed that Perkins pay for it by having Perkins, Ms. Hubbard, and her friend come in separately and each pay part of the pricea plan that Perkins understood would avoid federal filing requirements. Eventually, Perkins agreed to return with the appropriate amount of cash, after which Seher would begin working on the jewelry. When Perkins and Ms. Hubbard returned to Chaplin's on 21 July 2005, Seher was unable to find the rings they had selected, so they chose new ones. Perkins and Seher then negotiated the price, in the course of which, Perkins informed Seher that [t]he dope game is hot right now. Gov. Exh. 7 at 11. Seher eventually quoted $220 as the cash price, which Perkins understood as actually reflecting a cash price of $22,000. Perkins gave Seher $3000 in cash. Seher did not give him a receipt, but instead gave him a yellow note bearing the numbers 2200.00, 1900.00 and 300.00, which, according to Perkins, represented $22,000, $19,000, and $3000 the total price of the rings, the amount owed for the rings, and the amount paid, respectively. The following day, Perkins came back to Chaplin's to pick up the one wedding ring that was ready. Upon arrival, Seher escorted him into a back room, and Perkins gave Seher $19,000 in cash which he had previously wrapped in a rubber band. According to Perkins, Seher put the cash into a safe without counting it first. Perkins then told Seher that he did not want to have any paperwork for the transaction in his name, and Seher assured him that there would be none. Perkins never completed a Form 8300 for this transaction, nor did Seher request the information needed to complete that form. Perkins returned to Chaplin's on 25 August 2005 and obtained the other wedding ring. On 28 October 2005, Perkins called Seher at Midtown to inform him that he planned to stop by at some point the following week to get a watch he previously had ordered. [7] Perkins called Seher back on 3 November 2005 to arrange the details. Since the watch was at Midtown, Seher gave Perkins the option of meeting at either Chaplin's or Midtown. Perkins chose the latter, claiming it was because of the lack of security there. After Perkins arrived at Midtown later that afternoon, Seher informed him that the watch cost $12,800, and Perkins gave him that amount in cash. The invoice Seher provided listed the price of the watch as $6200. Seher never had Perkins complete a Form 8300 for this transaction and never sought the information necessary to complete that form. Before Perkins left, he remarked to Seher that he needed to leave Atlanta because it was hot, a term implying that it was difficult to sell drugs there at that point in time. The following day, $6200 in cash was deposited into Midtown's bank account. On 20 April 2006, Perkins and a fellow IRS Special Agent, Darryl Hudgins, visited the Midtown store to purchase jewelry from Seher, having previously arranged a meeting for that day. Upon first entering the store, they were assisted by a female staff member. When Perkins first encountered Seher, he explained that he had not been by the store recently because somebody snatched twenty-five kilos of coke from him. Gov. Exh. 31 at 1. In response to this statement, Seher joked that he was going to choke Perkins. Hudgins next asked Seher to appraise a watch that he claimed to have purchased from another jeweler for the value of a kilogram of cocaine. Hudgins ultimately decided to purchase two bracelets for $20,000, and Perkins reminded Seher that there should be no paperwork. Seher explained to Hudgins the payment process, doing so exclusively by writing on a notepad rather than verbalizing any statements out loud. In the course of this explanation, Hudgins remarked to Seher that he had been required to complete paperwork when he purchased a car. Seher responded by giving a written description of the $10,000 cash purchase reporting requirement and later explained that the figures he wrote down on the receipt had to be below $10,000 even though the actual price paid would exceed that. [8] Hudgins and Perkins gave Seher $20,000 cash for the two bracelets, and Seher gave them a receipt, which listed the total price as $8800. In filling out the receipt, Seher permitted Hudgins to use a fake name (Joe Flint) and address (123 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia). Gov. Exh. 31 at 24-25. He also never asked Perkins or Hudgins to fill out a Form 8300 or for the information needed to complete such a form. The following day, $8800 in cash was deposited into Midtown's bank account.