03x109 - Shady Staging Part 2

[bunniefuu]

- You didn't pay him anything?
- We never had an agreement.

It's bigger than just me. There's other
people that were relying on her.

- You knew he was working.
- He never worked for me.

- I don't believe you.
- I'm telling the truth, Your Honor.

A little bit slippery.
[quietly] I think you're slick.

- [announcer] This is Judy Justice.
- [theme music]

- [announcer] Previously on Judy Justice.
- You're suing her for $8,000.

You say she failed to pay you money that
you actually worked for, moving furniture.

Clearly, in July,

- he's doing things for you?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Do you pay him?
- Yes.

[Judy] According to Justin,
he was working for a little bit.

Maybe he earned $2,000 or $3,000.
That is what you told me, right?

I worked a lot more than that.

[Judy]
Well, then, that makes you an idiot,

because if I wasn't getting paid,
I wouldn't work anymore.

[Justin] He actually, one time,
paid me 1,000 for the work I did.

Then he's ridiculous. If you did
work for which you didn't get paid,

then, I'm sorry, sir,
that makes you an idiot.

Unless there's something else that's
going on here that I don't understand,

- which is all very possible.
- [Justin] Well...

Would it be a fair statement
that you paid the plaintiff nothing?

- Yes, correct. I didn't hire him.
- [announcer] And now, the conclusion.

Joseph Kendrew is suing
his former boss, Natacha Sanderson,

for unpaid wages and business expenses.

Now, do you have any text messages
as it relates to the work you did?

Unfortunately, we were getting


I do have plenty
of other evidence that supports it,

- but I didn't... I didn't...
- Like what?

Starting with my hours broken down...

No, I don't want...
I don't wanna see your records.

- [Joseph] Okay. I...
- Sorry, that's not happening.

We took... she had us go
and take a group photo, pictures,

and I was on the website. So for some
reason, they didn't wanna hire me.

Just a second. You have a website?
Is there a website?

Give Sarah the name of the website.

If Justin can look it up
or I can find it on my phone.

- I don't have...
- [Judy] Find it on your phone.

- I wanna see that on your phone.
- [Joseph] Okay.

- And I want Sarah to look at her...
- [Justin] Instagram.

Okay. I... and we also have team photos...

No, no, no. That's what I want right now.

[Joseph] Yes, ma'am. I don't know that I
have it readily available at this second,

- but I have it.
- [Justin] Smitty.

[Judy] You don't have to have it
readily available this second.

I have all the time in the world.
We have unlimited tape.

- It's on Instagram.
-My phone's in airplane mode.

- [courtroom laughs]
- You get it, I can't...

[Judy]
What is the name of her company?

- [Joseph] [...] LLC. And...
- Did you understand a word he said?

[Sarah]
I got it, yeah. I got it.

- [courtroom laughs]
- [Judy] What... what?

- Did you understand what he said?
- [Whitney] It was a little fast.

- [laughs]
- [Joseph] Justin, is the website on here?

- It's... go to the Instagram.
- [Joseph] I'm on there.

While Sarah is looking up
your website, did you, in fact,

post a picture of yourself
and these two gentlemen on your website?

- I did not.
- The answer is either yes or no.

Before she looks it up,
which she's very good at,

you saw the photograph
that he wants to show me.

Did you, in fact,
put that on your website?

- I did not, no.
- [Judy] Either a yes or a no.

Is it on your website?

I have no idea.
I don't look at my website.

[Judy]
Justin, stand up. Move over. Can I...

It's actually not...
it's actually on the Instagram.

I took over the Instagram for her,

'cause I was posting pictures
of all the stuff we staged.

I was reaching out to realtors.
I was doing all that stuff.

So I can show you
the whole Instagram, everything.

I'd like to see it.

[Justin] And it has our pictures on there.
It even has it at his apartment complex.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- Just show her.

I don't care what you posted on Instagram.
I wanna know what she posted on Instagram.

Everything that we posted on there,
she knew about.

- 'Cause she has access to it.
- [Judy] Okay.

I don't care whether
she had access to it or not, sir.

One thing about being on her website...
Don't come over here.

- [Justin] Oh, sorry.
- [someone laughs]

Got excited. That was
at his apartment, Your Honor.

And then we did this photo sh**t,
like, a week later. Oh.

[Judy] Oh, yes, that would be you. So you
did photograph yourself in sort of a...

- Unfold the arms.
- Oh, sorry, my bad.

You did, in fact, photograph yourself
in a glam shot at your apartment?

- Yes, sir.
- [Judy] At your apartment...

Yes, ma'am. Excuse me. Your Honor.

- [Judy] ...with the two of them?
- Yes.

[Judy] And, "Introducing the team...
our best casual team picture.

Guess whose brains
and guess whose brawn."

- Tell me that you've never seen that.
- I have not seen that, actually.

I... I've seen the picture.
I did not see that post.

They didn't Photoshop you
into this picture?

- No, I sat there. Yes.
- [Judy] You sat there.

So you know who he is?

- Of course I know who he is.
- [Judy] Of course.

And you knew that he was working.
You knew he was working?

- Justin? Yes.
- [Judy] No.

- Joseph?
- The plaintiff. You knew he was working.

- Why would you...
- We went to lunch with him that day.

That wasn't a work day.

Oh, no, I don't believe you.
I don't believe you.

- [Judy] Your friend, according to you...
- [indistinct]

made $2,000 to $3,000 from her.
I'm gonna split the difference. $2,500.

Probably she owed you more
if you worked with her.

But let's say $2,500.
I'm gonna split the difference.

Did your friend, Joseph,
work with you the entire time...

- Absolutely.
- [Judy] ...you worked for her? Shh.

Worked for you the entire time.

So all the time that you were working,
delivering for her, et cetera,

- your friend was with you in the truck?
- Yes, ma'am.

And also... he actually worked with her
by herself a couple times, too,

when I couldn't work.

And I actually brought him in
and she knew I was bringing him in.

[Judy]
Is that two times?

- [Justin] What? Those two?
- Yeah.

Multiple times they were working
and I'd meet them in my own car.

He would actually drive the truck
or maybe she would.

And I'd met them
in my own car a couple times.

Okay. Now, what arrangement... now, you
can sit down for the time being, Justin.

- Okay. Yup.
- [Judy] Mr. Kendrew,

what financial arrangement
did you have with the defendant?

- Yeah.
- [Judy] Because clearly,

you were there for several months,

and clearly, there was no money
forthcoming to you.

[theme music]

Madam, because you don't declare
any money from this business

that's clearly running cash,
you don't think that I think

that you worked for nothing
for the past three years?

- I've...
- You don't think that I think

that you work for nothing, 'cause if I was
in a business and I didn't earn any money,

I would close the business and I would
say, "This is clearly not for me."

So either you you're not very smart
or not very talented,

I haven't figured out which one.

[theme music]

[announcer] Joseph Kendrew is suing
his former boss, Natacha Sanderson,

for unpaid wages and business expenses.

What financial arrangement
did you have with the defendant?

Because clearly,
you were there for several months

and clearly, there was no money
forthcoming to you.

- Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judy] Okay. Let me hear.

The first was a verbal contract.

[Judy] No. No. Tell me what it was.
Don't delineate as to what it is.

- That's for me...
- [Joseph] Yeah. $25 an hour initially,

starting, for just moving furniture.

Our relationship grew, and she wanted
me to do financial consulting for them

in addition to that.
So the relationship grew.

I have access to all their tax returns,
their website, the bank.

And as it proceeded,

she was crying on my shoulder about her
temporary financial emergency situation.

And that, Justin wasn't gonna get paid.

She had just hired another employee
or an independent contractor

who has a family, responsibilities,

and he quit his other job to come
work for her on one of her job sites.

He was gonna leave after a week or two
because he wasn't getting paid.

It's bigger than just me. There's
other people that were relying on her.

So, for me, I had already put in...

I put in 230 hours, and I was
trying to do the right thing.

And if I didn't put in
at least a little bit of money

to try to finish these contracts...
and it's a simple business.

You take the furniture that's paid off,
you set it up, you bill.

For me, I felt trapped.
And that was tough.

But then, I ended this,
and this is the hardest part for me,

was, when we went to her house,

and we found out that she's neglecting
and abusing a dog

that was left in a cage
all day, every day.

And Justin will tell you. It... at that
point, I said, "Enough is enough."

And I had... I severed the relationship.

I want to see what expenses
you paid for the business.

[Joseph]
Yes, ma'am.

[Sarah] And I did find her LLC. It was...
it was filed in 2020. And they have...

When was the last time
she filed tax returns? Do you know?

Under the FEI or the EIN number,
it says applied for,

but there's no date or EIN number,
so I'm not sure.

[Judy]
So she never got an EIN number?

According to this, no.
It says that the status is active.

And it has a document number. But...

But she never got
a tax identification number?

- Not according to this website.
- Did you file tax returns in March?

- I file 'em every year and...
- [Judy tuts]

- I did.
- [Judy] Did you file tax returns...

- Yes.
- ...by March 15th of this year?

Not this year yet.
We filed an extension.

[Judy]
Give me the name of your accountant.

I don't have it
readily available right now.

[Judy] Just a second.
Give me the name of your accountant.

- Get it. It's in your phone.
- [Natacha] I don't.

Actually, I don't have it.
My business partner has it.

[Judy]
I thought you owned the business yourself?

- Who are you?
- I am Paula Heckenast.

- I met her doing hair and makeup.
- [Judy] Just a second.

- Do you work for her?
- Yes.

- [Judy] Stand.
- [chuckles]

- [Judy] Spell your last name.
- H-E-C-K-E-N-A-S-T.

- First name.
- Paula.

[Judy] When did you start to work
for Ms. Sanderson and doing what?

About a year ago. She hired my company,
City Lights Beauty Agency,

to do her hair and makeup for a wedding.

And I have been her hair and makeup artist
for various events and photo shoots since.

And I've been around

- for all of this... nonsense.
- [Judy] Just a...

I'm curious. So you don't
work for her, you do her hair.

And makeup. Yes.

- [Judy] And makeup.
- Correct.

I have a lot of people
that have been doing that job for years,

as you see, no one terribly effectively,
because... goodness.

You can always hire me.

- I wouldn't do that... on a bet.
- [Paula laughs]

- I want to know how she pays you.
- Cash.

How much did she pay you
in the last year, in cash?

It's about $300 a pop, so maybe $3,000.

- Did she 1099 you in January?
- [Paula] No.

[Judy]
Of course not. Now, you can sit down.

Okay.

So you don't have a tax ID number

so that you can't file tax returns
without a Tax Identification Number.

- I do have one.
- [Judy] Give it to Sarah.

This page was only updated
January 18th of this year.

- So if it came sometime after that...
- Oh.

- ...it's possible.
- January 18th of this year.

- That's paid.
- Is that when you got a tax ID number?

- Negative.
- [Judy] Okay.

[Natacha]
The date is January 13th of 2021.

[Judy]
Did you file tax returns for 2022?

- Yes.
- How much did you earn in 2022?

I don't have that information
available right now.

Generally. This is your only
source of income, is that right?

I don't take a paycheck.

- How do you support yourself?
- I have a alimony.

Do you know that I don't believe you.
You do understand that?

- I'm telling the truth, Your Honor.
- [Judy] Yeah.

You paid Justin August 3rd, $1,400.
You paid Justin $1,000.

You paid Justin $330. You paid Justin
$2,000. That's according to pay request.

Now, my question to you,
Justin, is $1,424, $3,444,

- she paid you about $5,000.
- [Justin] Okay.

- That sound familiar to you?
- Yeah, that's better. Yup.

- [Judy] Not two or three.
- Right. Okay.

- Is that correct?
- Plus another $2,000 that he took.

- [Judy] 2,000 he took from where?
- From a job that he sold.

- He took the check from the client.
- [Justin] No, no, no.

- It was $1,500 that I did.
- [Judy] Just a second.

Was it anything, Justin?

In addition to the 5,000,
did you take another check from a client?

It was the 1,500 that I...
that the stage that I sold,

- that I called in. I got it all.
- [Judy] Okay.

- And used her credit card for it, right?
- [Judy] Okay. Whatever it is,

how much an hour were you earning, Justin?

Twenty-five an hour and there's...
and, Your Honor, there's no way...

- Oh. Sorry.
- There's no way what?

There's... I needed his help.
I mean, we were doing...

[Judy]
Just a second. I didn't ask you any...

You were mistaken as to the amount
because according to this,

this is PayPal request,
that's how much it adds up to, $5,000.

- That makes sense.
- Which you probably owe taxes on,

maybe not if that's your only source
of income. You paid Justin 5,000,

and Justin says that the plaintiff
worked with him on the truck

for the entire time he worked for you,
with you, as an independent contractor.

[theme music]

These don't do it for me, sir.
You understand?

- Yeah.
- But I think you worked for her.

I think she knew you worked for her.
I think she knew that that was the team.

I think she advertised it. I believe
she knew you were working for her.

[theme music]

[announcer] Joseph Kendrew
claims his former boss, Natacha Sanderson,

owes for unpaid wages and business
expenses he loaned to Natacha.

Now, you paid Justin 5,000,
and Justin says that the plaintiff

worked with him on the truck
for the entire time he worked for you,

with you, as an independent contractor.

You were aware of the fact
that he worked on the truck with him.

He was earning $25 an hour.

So for $50 an hour, you were getting
a mover and a driver to move your stuff.

Only I didn't hire Joseph.

Well, that certainly
is a nice picture of you with the team.

That wasn't us working that day.

I wouldn't be dressed in heels
or a dress staging a home.

Madam, because you don't declare
any money from this business

that's clearly run in cash,
you don't think that I think

that you worked for nothing
for the past three years?

-I've...
-You don't think that I think

that you work for nothing, 'cause if I was
in a business and I didn't earn any money,

I would close the business and I would
say, "This is clearly not for me."

So either you're not very smart
or not very talented,

I haven't figured out which one.

I know, I know that there's a certain lack
of honesty about what you're telling me

because you handed this to me
as proof that you paid him

when this was not for him.
It was for his friend.

- Your Honor, I can explain it very well.
- Then, I'm all ears.

[Natacha]
Every penny that the business has earned

has gone right back into purchasing
more furniture, more inventory.

I own a box truck.
I own a ton of furniture.

We can stage up to 19 homes at one time,

- and all of that came from...
- If you're not making any money,

I would close the business.

If you're not making any money since 2021,
I would close the business.

Well, I made it a promise to myself
that if I could do this,

'cause my alimony expires from the time
when I got divorced until five years,

that I would put every penny back
into the business so that I could grow.

So that way when I got to the end
of the five-year period,

I could take the paycheck.

That would be the equivalent
of what I was making in my alimony.

- Nice. You didn't pay him anything.
- We never had an agreement.

Okay. What other expenses
did you pay for her?

- [Justin] U-haul. You told me...
- You have the file...

you have the one sheet
and here's the other... those are...

[Justin] Tell them about
the U-haul and everything.

[Joseph] Yeah. Things like U-haul,
things... business lunches.

- I have it even categorized.
- She was in the U-haul with us.

[Joseph] They're a little easier,
but, my unpaid labor...

[Judy]
Shh.

Doesn't do it for me.
Doesn't do it for me, Joseph.

Your hours do it for me.
Working for her does it for me.

Going out to a restaurant to arrange
for a telemarketing conference

doesn't do it for me.
Happy hour doesn't do it for me.

- I have videos from that day as well.
- [Judy] Out. Out.

- What does that mean?
- [Judy] Kevin, wake up. I've put her out.

- This way, please.
- Okay.

These don't do it for me, sir.
You understand?

But I think that you worked for her.
I think she knew you worked for her.

I think she knew that that was the team.
I think she advertised it.

I think she certainly knew
that you were with Justin on the truck,

because it's hard to park and move.

In any event, I believe she knew
you were working for her.

- I also believe that...
- Yes, Your Honor.

[Judy]
...the defendant is a little bit slippery.

- Who's [...]?
- [Natacha] He's a handyman.

- He owns his own business.
- [Judy] Mhm.

Did he work for you for a while?

He never worked for me.
He was hired by the homeowners.

What homeowners?

The homeowners of the homes
that needed work on them.

[quietly] I think you're slick.
When does your alimony stop?

- Three more years.
- Oh.

Well, so you're gonna go three more years

without drawing any money from this
company? That's a real problem.

Who's your partner? Is he a financial
partner or is he a working partner?

- He's a silent partner.
- [Judy] He's a silent partner because?

- He put in money in the beginning.
- How much did you put in?

- I did not put any in.
- How much of the LLC do you own?

- I own 75%, he owns 25%.
- [Judy] Yeah. Good.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $5,000.

We've finished here.
Thank you very much. We're done.

- This court is adjourned.
- [theme music]

The judge was hard on me.

The cases are real, the people are real,
and the rulings are final. It was great.

If that's the way it ends,
that's the way it ends.

- I mean, this is a good start.
- He was never hired.

- Pay your bills.
- He was happy working for me.

I don't know. I couldn't really tell you.

Take care of people.

I never authorized any of those expenses.

You do the right things
and... that's all this is.

- He kept showing up to work.
- What else is she gonna say?

We are not friends and he keeps
contacting my friends and my family.

- She's slippery.
- He's extorting me.

It's laughable... What do I think about
it? I mean, counter sue me.

Extortion. It'll get handled in court.

He's telling them to pay them
$30,000 and he'll be quiet.

I mean, we clearly worked for her.

Why, I can... I can show you all her tax
returns. She has me on the truck.

She had me doing financial consulting.

She has nothing...
there's no other evidence...

there's no other answer she could
possibly give than to just deny that.

He's saying that he can go
to the IRS on me.

And at the end of the day,

we were just trying to do the best
we could to help her business.

- I wish I never had him around.
- Pay your bills, do the right things.

And I'm glad part of this is behind me.

You know, I sort of got the feeling
that they were three slicksters.

- Mhm.
- [Judy] But there is no question

that the plaintiff did,
in fact, work for her,

- worked for her with Justin.
- Mhm.

[Judy] She clearly knew
that he was working with Justin.

- He's not a charity.
- Yup.

[Judy] Of the three of them, I think she's
slicker than those two brains

- maybe put together.
- [Sarah] I agree. And on paper,

maybe we thought it was all three
of them, but by the end of it,

the plaintiff and his witness seemed...

- more out... credible...
- [Judy] Credible.

...but more outraged
by what she was doing

to not only them
and their other employees,

- but also this kind of dog...
- Dog.

- And I think that that was...
- ...that was in the mix...

that was that most offended
by their treatment of that,

by her treatment of the animal.

But I did think they were credible.
He obviously did the work.

I agreed with you about,
you know, some of the dinners,

things are a little slippery there.
But he admitted to that.

- He said, "Okay. Fine."
- Okay. Just pay me for what I did.

He let that point go. And he just wanted
what he was owed for his labor,

- which I think he was 100% entitled to.
- Right.

[announcer] Are you a victim of a scam?


[theme music]