America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 736 Tax Evasion

The man who drove the Hummer into Martin was one of Johnny Depp's most loyal henchmen, and Depp was undoubtedly involved in the incident.

Perhaps Depp bears no legal responsibility.

But in Martin's eyes, Depp's name already has a bright red X drawn on it.

Martin asked, "Have the people close to Joel Mandel left North America?"

"He's gone," Bruce said simply. "He probably went to the port city to find a new job under his original identity, and he'll never come back."

Martin nodded slightly and then asked, "He's certain Depp has tax problems."

Bruce said, "The tax issues are very serious. Depp's investment manager and accountant are brothers. They had been manipulating Depp's taxes before he even knew them, and the responsibility lies entirely with Depp."

Only Martin, Louise, and Bruce knew about these things.

Martin thought for a moment and said, "Find a suitable way to have someone quietly report Depp."

"This is easy," Bruce had prepared beforehand. "The guy left some information behind when he left."

Martin never considered engaging in a verbal battle with Depp; it would be pointless and wouldn't cause any real harm. "Just do it as soon as possible."

He glanced at the calendar: "The Lone Ranger is coming out soon, we should definitely prepare a good gift for Depp."

Bruce said, "This gift is very appropriate."

Martin said, "I believe Depp and Megan Ellison will really like it."

That evening, the media was flooded with news reports about the Martin crash, and TMZ even released footage of the crash from a dashcam.

This has attracted the attention of media across the United States.

Because it didn't look like an ordinary car accident at all.

Soon, news spread that the perpetrator was Johnny Depp's friend and sidekick.

The entire United States was immediately in uproar.

But no one was surprised, after all, Johnny Depp had done something outrageous like urinating in front of the Martian crew in public.

The day after the car accident, the LAPD summoned Johnny Depp in accordance with the law.

When Depp finished his questioning and came out of the police station, he was immediately surrounded by reporters and paparazzi who had rushed to the scene.

"Did you order your henchmen to attack Martin Davis?"

"Why are you attacking Martin? Is it because of the conflicts during the filming of 'The Lone Ranger'?"

Aren't you ashamed of your behavior?

"Depp, were you on too much drug use when you decided to attack Martin?"

"Have you considered the possibility of Martin Davis retaliating against you?"

These entertainment reporters wish they could convict Depp right now, send him to jail this afternoon, and then send Martin over for a duel between the two.

Depp tried to retort several times, but his bodyguards stopped him each time.

Accompanied by his lawyer and agent, Wickham, Depp finally remained silent until he got into the car.

The lawyer instructed Depp not to give any media interviews recently and not to say anything inappropriate before leaving first.

The van left the police station.

In the car, Depp looked extremely grim and asked Wheate, "Can you bail Howard and the others out?"

"Not at the moment." Wrigham had spoken with his lawyer: "Given the current situation, it's best not to bail them out."

Depp, like a child, said, "What good would it do me to bail them out? Am I afraid Martin Davis will find out? Is he going to come and kill me?"

Seeing that there were no outsiders in the car, Whigham cautiously asked, "Is this really none of your business?"

Depp spread his hands and said, "It really wasn't me who made them do it. Howard didn't even tell me. Although I really wanted to see Martin Davis die in a car crash, I didn't have time to do it..."

"Stop! Stop... There's no need to say the rest." Whigham interrupted Depp directly: "No matter who you face later, remember what you just said: what Howard did has nothing to do with you."

Depp thought to himself, "I only asked Coulson to hire someone to deal with Martin Davis for $500 million, but I didn't expect these guys to be so serious about it."

He sighed and muttered, "No wonder he's Depp's brother!"

Back at Columbia Building, the car went straight into the underground parking lot. Depp got out and said to Wrigley, "Make sure Howard's family is taken care of, hire the best lawyers for them, assemble a top-notch legal team to handle this lawsuit. It's just a matter of spending money, right? I have plenty!"

Whigham replied, "No problem."

In this country, money can solve most problems.

Depp added, "You should contact Martin Davis's people, pay him compensation, and try to reach a settlement. Money can solve most problems."

Upon hearing Depp's words, who was known for his wealth and influence, Whigham thought to himself that money alone wouldn't be enough to resolve the situation with Martin Davis, since the latter was also a rich man.

But since he was paid to do the job, he still wanted to secure the best possible outcome for Depp. He quickly changed cars and left to handle the related matters.

Johnny Depp, who had a lot of money, went upstairs to his mansion and suddenly received a phone call from his office.

"Boss, things are bad." The office assistant was a little flustered: "The IRS Los Angeles branch's inspection team came to our office with warrants. I couldn't stop them. They sealed all our documents and data on the grounds that you owe taxes."

Depp exclaimed in surprise, "The IRS? Are they crazy? What are they trying to do? There's nothing wrong with my taxes."

The bodyguard asked with concern, "What happened?"

Depp covered the phone's microphone: "The IRS suddenly came to my door to investigate taxes and sealed off my office!"

The bodyguard frowned: "Haven't your taxes always been handled by a specialist?"

Depp quickly said into the phone, "You guys handle this for now, I'll go figure out what's going on."

He hung up the phone and said to his bodyguard, "Go to the office and see what's going on."

The bodyguard nodded and hurried over there.

Depp dialed Joel Mandel's cell phone directly.

The call had barely connected when Joel Mandel blurted out before Depp could even ask a question, "Johnny, I was just about to call you. The IRS just notified me to prepare your tax records and receipts from all previous years. Your tax evasion issue has surfaced. What should we do next?"

This left Depp stunned. He thought to himself, "You and Robert have always handled my taxes, and now I have unpaid taxes, and you're asking me what to do? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?!"

Depp demanded, "Joel, why are there outstanding taxes? I didn't...?"

"Wasn't this what you asked for?" Joel countered, still arguing, "You even gave me several documents saying that the tax payments I had prepared were temporarily needed for other purposes, and that the tax payment should be delayed. Then you transferred the money away."

Depp was furious: "Impossible!"

Joel Mandel retorted, "Do I need to send you the signed documents and contracts?"

He went on to explain: "You misappropriated part of your 2008 tax revenue to buy a large amount of wine; in 2009 you spent half of your tax revenue to buy a new car for each of your partners; in 2010 you misappropriated all of your tax revenue to buy jewelry for Amber Heard..."

Depp was stunned because he had never done these things before and had no memory of them at all.

Joel Mandel continued, "Johnny, it involves professional ethics, and I haven't disclosed any information about this to anyone. But the IRS is investigating all accounts, documents, and business dealings involving you, and I will have to cooperate. Please be prepared."

He acted responsibly: "Robert is dealing with the IRS investigators. Please notify your lawyer as soon as possible. That's all I can say for now."

Depp said urgently, "Wait a minute..."

"Sorry, they don't allow me to make calls outside the company." Joel Mandel's call abruptly ended.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Depp's brain, corrupted by alcohol and drugs, became momentarily confused.

"What did I do? Why am I suddenly caught up in such a troublesome tax problem?" He couldn't understand. "I can't possibly sign those documents! Absolutely not..."

Thinking of this, Depp suddenly had a memory, a memory filled with similar scenes.

Whether it's Joel Mandel or Robert Mandel, whenever they bring him documents or contracts to sign in recent years, he trusts the two brothers so much that he doesn't bother to read the details carefully; he just listens to what they say and then signs.

Unexpectedly, it was full of traps; those two bastards betrayed his trust.

Depp was furious. He picked up his phone to call his lawyer, but when he saw the bottle next to the phone, he put those things aside for the moment, grabbed the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp.

After the alcohol went down his throat, Depp seemed to clear his head and his thoughts became clearer, and his nose started twitching.

He told himself, "Stay calm, don't panic, solve the problem slowly."

Depra opened a drawer, took out a plastic bag, opened it, and placed it on the table.

Only when he is in high spirits will he have the energy to deal with these troublesome matters.

So, Depp got to enjoy it first.

The phone next to him rang again, but Depp was flying around in the sky and had no time or energy to answer it.

When he regained some composure, the doorbell rang urgently from outside.

Depp called out to Amber a few times, trying to get her to open the door, but no one responded.

He then remembered that his wife had gone to a gathering of Silicon Valley bigwigs, saying she wanted to try investing in Silicon Valley's high-tech industry.

Depp's mind cleared up a bit, and he gradually remembered some things. Amber Heard seemed to have recently mentioned Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The doorbell rang more frequently, and Depp had to go and open the door himself.

He peered through the video intercom and saw several men in suits outside who were unfamiliar to him.

"Who are you?" Depp asked through the loudspeaker.

The leader of the group took out his identification and relevant documents, placed them in front of the camera, and said, "I am Paul Stone, Inspector General of the IRS Los Angeles Office. Mr. Johnny Depp, you are suspected of tax evasion. Please cooperate with our investigation..."

Upon hearing this, Depp's head buzzed, and the troubles he had forgotten while drunk and high returned to his mind once again.

(End of this chapter)