American Tax Officer

As the words fell, the Inspector from the Western Suburb Branch led the three members of the Human Rights Organization to the defendant's bench.

Unlike the previous eight leaders and other criminals who had been tried here, these three individuals showed no signs of panic or unease. Instead, they seemed ecstatic.

One might not have known they were criminals on trial but could have mistaken them for judges instead.

Observing their demeanor, Nicola's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she proceeded with the routine questioning, "Defendants Ted Antonio, Ivan Felice, and Flynn Nelson, this court formally charges you with tax evasion. Do you have anything to say?"

"Your Honor, I have nothing to say. If you suspect us of evading taxes, then please present the evidence!"

"Ted is right, evidence is king!"

"Judge, please don't wrong us. We are good citizens. We haven't even sworn at anyone, let alone evaded taxes!"

The three of them held their heads high, their arms confidently crossed over their chests, exuding extreme arrogance.

"Gavel... Gavel... Gavel..."

Jenny slammed the gavel down several times. These three didn't even use the respectful address of 'Your Honor' and were behaving arrogantly, which naturally upset her. She immediately chastised them, "Defendants, watch your language, or this court will charge you with an additional count of contempt!"

The three on-site remained unabashed and fearless.

Ted, the man who had previously tossed the bills, spoke out, "Judge, we're just telling the truth. If you consider that contempt of court, then let the IRS senior officials on the scene, and those watching the live broadcast, judge for themselves!"

His words ostensibly called for the IRS top brass to make a judgment, but he was also implying that it wasn't just the IRS officials present—there were influential people from all walks of life.

You think you can convict us on such charges?

See if it will satisfy the public first!

Nicola certainly understood this. Out of concern for the impact, she softened her approach, saying, "All you need to do is answer with a yes or no!"

"Your Honor, we have not evaded taxes!"

The three responded in unison.

Nicola nodded and then began to flip through the files on the three individuals. The more she read, the more tightly her eyebrows furrowed.

Among these three, the one who had been working in society the longest had more than a decade of experience, and even Ted, the shortest, had worked for two or three years.

Yet all these years, every single source of income had detailed tax records.

So not only was there no tax evasion, but there had never been an incident of even a single day's delay in paying taxes to the IRS.

Now she finally understood why these three dared to be so bold.

With no choice, Nicola had to put the files down, and she looked down at David and said, "Director David, I have reviewed their tax files and found no issues. As the party accusing them from the Western Suburb Branch, please come forward and make a statement!"

Nicola was indeed a judge of the IRS, and she too wanted to convict these three dogs from the Human Rights Organization.

But without any evidence or even the slightest pretext, she couldn't possibly convict them in front of so many people, even as the head of the court.

David stood up with one of the file bags, walked down to the lower floor, opened it, reached inside and pulled out a USB drive, and said to Nicola on the stage, "Your Honor, please allow me to play a video."

"Granted!"

A court staff took the USB drive from David's hand, walked over to the nearby projector, and plugged it in.

Without leaving the audience in doubt for long, a scene appeared on the screen in the next second.

The video showed a restaurant where a young man dressed in a waiter's uniform came out of the kitchen with a dish of Italian food.

Both the on-site audience and the IRS officials watching the live broadcast immediately recognized that the waiter was none other than Ted, who was being tried at the moment.

Ted brought the Italian dish to the table of a man in a suit.

The suited man took a wad of cash out of his pocket, selected a 20-dollar US bill, and handed it to Ted.

Ted said "Thank you" and turned to leave; the video ended there.

With the cessation of the footage, the room fell silent.

However, soon Felton, João, and others in the spectator's gallery changed expressions.

Others might not yet realize what this meant and even think it was just a very ordinary video.

Giving a tip was, after all, nothing unusual throughout America.

But as IRS employees, no one understood tax evasion better than they did!

That 20 dollars was just a small amount of money.

According to tax law, however, it did need to be taxed; only in the past the IRS hadn't bothered to chase such trivial profits.

But now it was different, now they were looking for a handle and pretext to deal with Ted.

Although not declaring taxes on that 20 dollars seemed somewhat exaggerated, it did provide them with an excuse to judge Ted!

After all, 20 dollars was still money, and it was personal income. Under American tax law, if an individual has gained profit, they need to settle their tax liabilities.

Otherwise, how goes the saying that only death and taxes are inevitable in America?

Washington D.C. Headquarters.

"This can work, this tip isn't much, but if we delve into the tax law, we can definitely pin him with the charge of tax evasion!"

"Yes, although this amount of money is a bit far-fetched, as long as we find a reason, that will make it much easier!"

The top brass, tense to the extreme and repressed for a long time, also relaxed after seeing the video.

However, at this moment in the courtroom, there was one person who felt differently.

This person was Welton Heng, who said, "Don't get too excited too soon. We've barely found a handle on Ted, but what about the other two?"

At these words, the previously jubilant crowd felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on them.

Indeed, convicting Ted might have salvaged some dignity.

But if the other two weren't convicted, the IRS would still face the whirlpool of public opinion afterward. It was still too early to celebrate.