Art Van and the Free Perks Scam 3-21-15

It has been over ten years since I worked for my old buddy Art Van the cheap furniture billionaire. He had more angles than a diamond cutter. The man came up with scams daily...sometimes hourly. One of his favorites was the Ol' Free Carpeting and Remodeling scam. Allow me to explain how it worked. The trick with this one was to chisel money from the contractors that worked on his stores AND hide income from the Internal Revenue Service at the same time. Let us say, for instance, that a carpeting contractor coveted the carpeting contract for Art's 31 huge furniture stores. The carpet in each store suffers a moderate amount of wear, especially from the constant "50-75% off sales that aren't really sales because they are based on a suggested retail price that no one on the planet ever pays." It is enough business to keep a contractor and his crew perpetually busy. More than one contractor sees dollar signs during the bidding process. First, Art's people figure out who is the lowest bidder. One cannot blame them there. After they are awarded the contract and re-carpet a store or two the hook is set. Art approaches them and tells them what a "fine, fine job they are doing" and how he "truly, truly hopes they are the winning bidder again when the contract comes up for renewal." Then he asks them for a small favor. There is a small room at his/his daughter's/his son's home that needs some new carpet and he was wondering if he could get the contractor to look it over. The contractor is flattered and shatters the sound barrier getting to the location in question. The work is performed rapidly and perfectly....but no money is ever offered. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. After all, it was a "favor". But then the favors become larger...a living room and a hallway, a bedroom or two--and soon a whole house. A precedent has been set. It has become too late to discuss a bill by now--the date of the contract's renewal is far too near. It is the same with the contractors that perform tile work...and the carpenters...and painters. Do these business owners inwardly resent giving away materials and their labor and that of their employees? Of course they do. I fell pray just once to Art's scam when I was asked to move a large multi-station weight machine to his son Gary's basement in the middle of a hot, hot summer. Gary MUST have noticed it there after I was done. It was huge and weighed a TON. His wife saw me go in and out of the home 231 times. She did not offer me a cold beverage on that 96 degree day, but MUST have heard the water running in the laundry tub as I tried to suck in enough to stave off heatstroke. But no money was offered, not from Art, and certainly not from his son. Does the IRS consider all of these "freebies" from browbeaten contractors to be income? Of COURSE it does. I wonder if Art has stolen a million dollars this way yet? To go back to the home page
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