Chapter 6 - The Inside Man
Craig Miller sitting in a holding cell gave us the leverage we needed. By Friday morning, Thorne had him dead to rights on attempted breaking and entering, armed assault, and trespassing. Faced with five years in state prison, Craig sang like a bird. He gave up the name of the one board member who was helping Evelyn forge the valuation documents: the HOA Treasurer, David Lin.
I accompanied Thorne to Lin’s accounting office downtown. We didn't bring badges; we brought a manila envelope.
Lin, a nervous, balding man in a cheap suit, paled when we walked in. "Can I help you?"
Thorne locked the office door behind us. I dropped the envelope on his desk.
"David," I said gently, sitting across from him. "You have a choice to make in the next five minutes. You can either be a federal witness, or you can be a co-conspirator in a multi-million-dollar wire fraud and racketeering case."
Lin’s hands began to shake. "I don't know what you're talking about."
I opened the envelope, spreading out the forged property evaluations, the offshore wire transfers, and a photo of Craig Miller behind bars. "Craig told us everything. We know Evelyn forced you to sign off on the fake appraisals to drain the reserve funds. The DOJ is preparing the indictments today."
Lin broke down, burying his face in his hands. "She said it was just a few creative bookkeeping maneuvers! She said we needed the money to keep the neighborhood prestigious! I didn't want to steal anyone's house!"
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"Then prove it," I said, sliding a pen toward him. "She’s going to the county clerk’s office at noon today to finalize the lien and foreclosure on my property. I need you to go with her, wearing a wire, and get her to admit that she knows the valuation is fraudulent."
Lin looked at the pen, then at the photo of a prison cell. He picked up the pen. "What do I need to do?"
