American Tax Officer

Ibrahim furrowed his brows but said nothing more; however, his expression clearly showed his dissatisfaction with the mere one-day deadline.

With the conversation at that point, David said no more, took Nisen, and stepped out the door to leave.

Once they left World Street and got into the car, David asked, "About that hacker case and counterfeit goods case, do you have any leads around here?"

These two cases were different from the fencing case.

For the fencing case, the intelligence department provided quite detailed information. It consisted not only of Ibrahim's personal details but also his shop address, home address, and other information, making it relatively easy to locate him.

But for the hacker case, the intelligence department's data only traced the systems they had recently been hired to breach and the data they had altered, with other details being less comprehensive.

It was the same with the counterfeit goods case.

According to the information, recently in the Lake District, some valuable items like precious jewelry and watches had been switched out in the homes of many wealthy individuals.

And the items that were swapped ended up in the black market.

Yet concrete details about the targets of these thefts were not provided.

After pondering for a moment, Nisen replied, "There are some channels, but it will cost some money..."

"Money can be spent, but the speed has to be fast!"

With over 50,000 US Dollars remaining in the public funds, David wasn't worried about the costs.

"Okay, then I'll arrange it!"

...

The next day, David arrived at the bureau as usual, waiting for Ibrahim to show up.

But no matter how long he waited, by noon there was still no sign of him.

Impatient, Nisen immediately logged on to the IRS's internal network, entered Ibrahim's name, and started a search.

But they had no idea until they checked - and what they found was alarming.

With anger on his face, Nisen turned and said, "That damned bastard, he's actually transferred all the money out of his accounts!"

David was stunned when he heard this.

He had made his point very clear.

And yet, this guy still dared to defy the IRS?

David's face darkened with a sense of being slapped in the face as he asked, "How much money did he transfer?"

"The several accounts in his name add up to just over 70,000 US Dollars. Shall we call the bank and ask them to freeze his funds?"

According to federal tax law, if the IRS suspects anyone of tax evasion, it has the right to freeze the person's accounts, assets, and any valuable items.

David pondered for a moment before replying, "No, just over 70,000 isn't enough to cover the taxes owed to us, and besides, freezing the accounts would involve a lot of procedures with the bank. We don't need to waste time on that..."

"So you're suggesting…?"

David smiled slightly and said, "We've already warned him. According to the statutes of the Black Tax Act, we are allowed to take compulsory measures!"

Nisen also smiled, "Understood!"

...

On the edge of Kegorin Avenue in the Lake District, there lay a middle-class community.

The uniform European architectural style of the houses, lined up neatly and painted in harmonious colors, resembled a pale-yellow fairytale town when viewed from a distance.

Each house had its own small garden and lawn with lush green grass and blooming flowers, creating a peaceful and warm atmosphere.

The streets were broad and clean, lined with tall trees under which leisurely chairs and tables were set up, and groups of people chatted idly.

"This should be the place, right?"

At the entrance to the community, Nisen drove the Volvo in, looking around to pinpoint the location.

David glanced at each house number and said, "Keep going, it's number 8!"

Soon, they arrived in front of house number 8.

At that moment, an SUV was parked across the street from the house.

When David and Nisen got out of the car, a man in a suit with a folder in hand came down from the SUV.

He approached them and said, "You must be Inspectors David and Nisen from the Lake District Sub-Bureau, right? I'm Basinuo, a sales representative from Odlin Real Estate Company."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Basinuo!"

After a handshake and preliminary introductions, Basinuo spoke, "I heard on the phone that you're planning to auction off a tax evader's house, is that correct?"

"That's correct!"

David nodded.

In America, only death and taxes are inevitable, and that saying is not an exaggeration.

And nobody has ever managed to get away with owing money to the IRS.

"If you don't pay, the IRS has plenty of ways to make you pay!"

And this time, David was prepared to sell Ibrahim's house to cover the unpaid taxes.

Some might say,

"Can you sell someone's house without the homeowner's permission?"

Other agencies might not be able to, but under federal tax law, the IRS does have that authority.

And according to the latest Black Tax Bill provisions, this power was doubled.

Forget about a house.

If there's nothing else of value, to exaggerate a bit, you can even sell the homeowner's kidney to pay off the debt.

After all, these people are already criminals, daring to owe the IRS back taxes is just adding insult to injury, so why would the IRS care about your human rights?

Basinuo asked, "Do you have the auction order?"

David pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

The so-called auction order was a document issued by a judge.

With this document, the house could be sold.

The auction order he now held was issued by a judge from the IRS itself.

The reason the IRS has so much authority is not just because it's armed.

An important point is that they also have their own lawyers, courts, and judges.

Police and the FBI have great authority too.

But to search someone's home, even if they are just a civilian, you need a search warrant to enter.

And to get a search warrant, you would need to find a judge.

But judges aren't part of the same system as the police and the FBI; it's not certain whether they will issue one to you easily.

However, the IRS has no such worry because the judges are one of their own!

Basinuo carefully reviewed the document and after confirming there were no issues, he nodded, "Everything looks good on my end, let's take a look at the house!"

David and Nisen immediately turned and walked towards the house across the street, crossed the lawn, and rang the doorbell.

Soon, the door opened.

A woman in her fifties wearing a headscarf came out and, speaking in broken English, asked, "Who are you, and what brings you here?"

David showed his IRS badge and said, "Ma'am, we are from the IRS. After investigation, your husband Ibrahim is suspected of tax evasion. We are here to auction your house and pay off the taxes. Please pack up and leave the premises!"

Hearing these words, the woman was stunned.

Suspected of tax evasion?

And they're seizing their house?

What is going on?

"Did you understand me, ma'am?"

The woman finally snapped back to reality and began to urgently defend herself, "No, my husband is a law-abiding citizen, he wouldn't be involved in tax evasion, and you can't just seize our house!"

David took out the auction order again and said, "This is an auction order issued by Judge Kiesa. If you have any issues, you can appeal at any court in Las Vegas at any time!"

With that, David no longer paid her any mind; he proceeded inside with Nisen and Basinuo.

Seeing that she couldn't stop them, the woman immediately took out her phone and dialed her husband's number.

Inside Pharaoh Timepieces Shop's private room.

Ibrahim was examining a string of pearls through a magnifying glass, saying, "There are minor flaws, but it's still a good piece. I'll give you 3,000 dollars for it!"

"Agreed!"

The man who had come to sell the illicit goods didn't haggle and simply accepted the offer.

After giving the man the money and sending him on his way, Ibrahim happily hummed to himself.

The flaws he mentioned were, of course, just to drive the price down.

In reality, the pearls were of excellent quality, and he could easily make an additional 20 to 30 thousand US dollars on the resell.

"Doo-doo-doo..."

While he was still in high spirits, the telephone rang. It was his wife; he quickly answered, "What's up, Isis?"

"It's bad, Ibrahim. The IRS people have come to our house. They're saying you're suspected of tax evasion and they're going to confiscate our house!"

"What!"

Ibrahim was shocked, his eyes widened in alarm.