American Tax Officer

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An hour later, Director David and his team had returned to the Lake District.

Learning that Director Jon had already arrived and was in William's office, he did not dare to delay and immediately went to the office on the fourth floor and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

David pushed the door open and, indeed, saw Director Jon there.

"Director David."

"Director Jon, hello."

Even though it was their first meeting, David had already seen the director's face through television and other media channels.

After shaking hands, Jon, with a smile, said, "Director David, the big commotion you caused in Sparks and Henderson really gave me a start, if there's something like this in the future, could you give me a heads-up beforehand?"

Realizing the other party wasn't seeking to blame, David replied with a light tone, "Now that you've said so, Director Jon, I will definitely report in advance next time!"

"Alright, I've heard that you and Inspector Nisen are on good terms, and the reason for stirring up such a situation was also to ensure he wouldn't be transferred away. Since the tax work in the cities has now returned to normal, it's fine for him to continue working under you."

What he did was actually more about giving face to David than the tax work having returned to normal in those cities.

Because if Nisen weren't transferred out of Nevada State, then Stevenson wouldn't have a way to step down gracefully, and he might even continue to create problems with their tax collection.

But no help for it, David made such a big move in both cities, clearly showing his resolve to protect Nisen, and he didn't want to overly offend David and create resentment.

"Then I must thank you for your understanding, Director Jon..."

This was exactly what David wanted to hear, otherwise his trip to the cities would have been in vain.

In the time that followed.

Jon was obviously curious about how David quickly resolved the issues with the city halls of both cities, constantly probing for details.

But David deflected all attempts.

Afterward, they discussed the matter of the Creation Project.

Because the National Tax Bureau of Nevada State rarely had a star like David emerge, Jon had high expectations for David, hoping he would strive to impact this project.

After all, if the god of the Creation Project came from Nevada State, it would reflect well on him as the state director.

As for this, David, who had planned to give it his all, naturally didn't hesitate to agree.

As they talked, the time reached 6 P.M.

Seeing it getting late, Jon suggested he should leave, but as he was preparing to go, he seemed to think of something and turned to remind David, "Director David, although what you did in both cities was very impressive, sometimes showing your edge too early is not a good thing, you need to be careful with that."

"Thank you for the reminder, Director Jon, I understand!"

David got the message from Director Jon.

The other party was telling him that when dealing with criminals, it didn't matter how he cracked down on them.

After all, these people deserved to be universally condemned.

But it was different for those officials.

These people are a vested interest collective. By attacking them, he could provoke the wariness and anxiety of the whole group, potentially leading to their suppression and containment of him.

After Director Jon left.

David immediately called Simmons, Ariel, and a few others to the office and asked, "What's the situation with the counterfeit money and smuggling cases?"

Ariel spoke first, "Regarding the smuggling case, with the cooperation of the data from the district division, we have identified a few related persons, but we currently don't know how their group operates or the routes they use for smuggling."

Simmons followed, "As for the counterfeit money case, we only know that many casinos on Main Street have a large influx of counterfeit money every day. These counterfeit banknotes are 99% similar to real ones; without specialists and professional equipment, they're nearly impossible to identify."

David asked Simmons, "Which casinos specifically?"

"Eternal Stand, Desert Palace, Temple Man... several of them!"

"These are all smaller-scale casinos..."

"Exactly, and it's because these casinos are small scale, without the professional equipment and personnel, that they have a large influx of counterfeit money every day."

David pondered briefly before saying, "Get ready, we're going to visit Desert Palace tonight!"

...

At 8 P.M., the Main Street casino boulevard welcomed its most exciting moment.

Neon lights bathed the entire street, and a stream of luxury cars and beautiful women began to appear at bars, casinos, and various high-end establishments.

Desert Palace casino, located at number 785 on the boulevard, was part of the tail-end area.

Though the casino was not large, there was a constant stream of patrons coming and going.

And that's when a car stopped at the entrance.

The car door opened, and Director David stepped out from the back seat, followed closely by Buckynison Simmons and three others.

"Good evening, gentlemen, can I help you with anything?"

Upon entering, a warm casino public relations officer came up to greet them.

Simmons pulled out his tax badge and said, "National Tax Bureau. Call your manager over!"

Hearing that they were from the National Tax Bureau, the public relations officer didn't dare to neglect their request and immediately turned to leave.

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About three minutes later, a well-dressed black woman approached them and introduced herself, "Gentlemen from the National Tax Bureau, I am the lobby manager Margarita. May I ask what brings you here?"

"Manager Margarita, we're following up on a case and would like to 'borrow' your chip exchange facility for a bit, if that's convenient?"

This time, it was David who spoke.

"Borrow our chip exchange facility?"

Margarita looked slightly confused.

"Yes, we need to observe some customers exchanging chips inside. It won't interfere with your normal operations!"

After pondering for a moment, Margarita finally nodded, "All right, follow me!"

She led David and his companions to the chip exchange on the left side of the casino and gave instructions to the staff there.

Then, David and the others took seats and began to wait.

An hour quickly passed by.

In that hour, despite constant scrutiny with his "golden finger," David spotted no unusual gamblers.

Just as he was about to try his luck at another casino, the arrival of a man clad in a large cloak suddenly caught his attention.

[Name: Isidore Nidam.]

[Occupation: President of Vegas Petrochemical Company.]

[Income: Legal monthly income of One Million Two Hundred Thousand US dollars, illegal monthly income of Two Million Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand US dollars.]

[Income Details: On December 4th, made a profit of Two Hundred and Twenty Thousand US dollars by purchasing counterfeit currency and laundering it through the casino; On December 17th, made a profit of Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand US dollars through the same process...]

[More Details: ...]

[Tax Owed: Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand One Hundred and Ninety US dollars.]

"You are the one..."

David's lips curled into a smile as he stood up, walked out of the exchange room, and approached the man named Isidore, saying, "Sir, we are from the National Tax Bureau and would like to ask you to come with us to assist in an investigation into a case."

Isidore, who was exchanging chips, was initially startled by this statement, his eyes flickering with a hint of panic, before he composed himself and replied, "What case? I'm quite busy right now!"

"Once you're at our bureau, I'll tell you all about it!"

Watching David's demeanor of preserving dignities—Isidore's or his own, he wasn't sure—Isidore realized avoidance was futile and resignedly said, "Fine, I'll come with you."

David turned to the chip exchange staff and said, "Take the chips back, and also pack all the money up; we're taking it with us."

At these words, Isidore's heart sank.

Could it be...

That his counterfeit currency had been compromised?

This thought started to induce panic in him.

Lake District National Tax Bureau.

After David brought Isidore back, he took him to the interrogation room and placed the box of money they had brought back on the table, taking out a stack to closely examine.

Indeed, just as Simmons had said.

The counterfeiting technique used on the money was so sophisticated it was nearly indistinguishable from real currency. Even after a close inspection, David was unable to pinpoint any differences from genuine bills.

Finally, he placed the bundle of bills in front of Isidore and demanded, "Where did this money come from?"

Isidore, feigning composure, replied, "I run a petrochemical company. This is all cash earned by our business..."

"Really? So the cash earned by your company is all counterfeit?"

Startled, Isidore retorted in panic, "Counterfeit? This is all real money, how could I possibly use counterfeit bills? You can have anyone you want verify them!"

David scoffed disdainfully and turned to Simmons, "Did you hear that? Have someone verify them."

Simmons smiled knowingly and promptly agreed, "No problem, I'll have someone over right away..."

Hearing their conversation, Isidore grew even more agitated.

He was well aware of the Nevada State Tax Bureau's reputation, having heard they even had fighter jets at their disposal, so procuring high-end equipment capable of identifying his counterfeit bills was certainly not beyond their means.

David, seeing his panic, continued, "Mr. Isidore, coming clean now is still an option for you. The National Tax Bureau only collects taxes, and we won't harm you. Just pay the taxes due and help us trace the source of these counterfeit bills, and I assure you, you'll be fine!"

Isidore was silent for quite some time before responding with a dejected tone, "I can pay the taxes, but I can't expose them—I'd be courting retribution. I hope the National Tax Bureau can understand this..."

David laughed at this response, replying, "Do you think you have a choice in the matter? Either you expose them to earn your redemption, or you take full responsibility for the consequences!"

"You..."

Isidore was infuriated by David's words.

It took him a full two minutes before he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll confess, damn it, is that okay?"

"..."

In the time that followed, Isidore detailed everything—from the channels through which he learned about the counterfeit money, to the ratio at which he purchased it, how often he did so, and the specifics of who he dealt with—all of it was laid bare.

With the help of the "golden finger," David knew Isidore wasn't lying. He then said, "Good, take the money and go back to the casino tonight as usual. Then tomorrow, purchase another batch of counterfeit bills from them. Remember, no tricks and don't even think about warning them, or you'll be the only one suffering. Understand?"

Isidore nodded, "I know what to do."

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