Novel Reader
Chapter 264
Chapter 264
Chapter 264 Court Hearing (2)
The court session began.
The whole scene was solemn.
All key individuals involved in the cases proceeded to the courtroom and took their designated seats.
The judge walked in.
Everyone stood up.
Everyone sat down.
The judge announced the official opening of the court.
The prosecuting attorney, Steven Davis, stood up to make his statement. “First, on February 15th of
last year, the Lambert. Group purchased the land of Marigold Estates from Victor Evans, valued at 48
million dollars, and the final transaction was settled at 32 million dollars. The Lambert Group paid the
purchase tax of 32 million dollars. Additionally, the remaining 16 million dollars was transferred through
private contracts in multiple transactions. The Lambert Group made five separate transactions on
March 3rd, May 12th, June 18th, July 5th, and September 20th of last year, depositing the 16 million
dollars. into Victor Evans’ personal account. With this embezzled amount, the Chairman of the Lambert
Group, Irvin Lambert, bribed the Director of the Department of City Planning, Ernesto Robinett, with
800 thousand dollars.”
On March 15th last year, the Lambert Group invited bids for the construction of Marigold Estates. The
chairman of the
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Chapter 264 Court Heading (2)
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Lambert Group, Irvin Lambert, privately made an agreement with the bidding companies, requesting
the contractor to bribe Ernesto Robinett after winning the bid to ensure the smooth progress of the
Marigold Estates project. On May 21st this year, the prosecuting authorities received an anonymous
report from Konan Wollen, a contractor of Marigold Estates, accusing Irvin Lambert of tax evasion and
bribing the director of the Department of City Planning with up to 4 million dollars. The informant
provided private contract agreements and a detailed list of bribes. Ernesto Robinett has confirmed the
authenticity of the allegations.
As a result, the prosecution filed charges against the criminal suspect Irvin Lambert.
The judge nodded. “The prosecution is established. Please submit the defendant’s evidence of crime to
the bench.”
“Yes,” Steven handed over the documents.
The staff presented the documents to the judge’s bench.
Steven spoke up, “Your Honor, please allow me to call the relevant key individuals involved in this case
to testify”
“Allowed.”
The first person to appear in court was the informant, Konan.
Laurel sat in the audience and watched him.
At this moment, Konan stood in the courtroom, appearing somewhat nervous.
Steven approached Konan. “Don’t be nervous, the informant, you just need to answer my questions
truthfully.”
Chapter 254 Court Hearing (2) RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
“Okay,” Konan nodded quickly.
“May I ask why you suddenly reported Irvin? As far as I know, you embezzled all the contracting fees of
Marigold Estates and fled. Do you realize what it means for you to come back?”
“I knew that I would be sentenced by the law when I returned, and I admit that I did take all of the
contract fees. That was because Irvin had been pressuring me all along, and I had no choice.”
“Please, the informant, truthfully explain the details.”
Konan took a deep breath, seemingly adjusting his emotions, before speaking, “When I initially
contracted Marigold Estates, Irvin promised that I would earn at least 32 million dollars. However,
throughout the construction process, Irvin kept increasing my building costs. There were no clear
materials specified in the bid, yet he forced me to use the most expensive ones. If this continues, I will
lose a lot of money! That’s why I took all of the contracting fees.”
“Why did you come back, since you made the decision to leave?” Steven asked.
“I was originally planning to just walk away from it all. But this illegal money has made me extremely
anxious, to the point
I
where I wake up from nightmares every night. I don’t want to continue like this, so I’ve decided to turn
myself in. What truly solidified my determination to come back and confess is the news that Marigold
Estates is starting construction again. I had initially wanted to do something great, but I never expected
to become a criminal. I am truly unwilling to accept this, so I’ve come back to confess!” Konan spoke
fluently.
It was obvious that Konan was memorizing the script.
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Chapter 264 Court Hearing (2)
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What Konan said makes sense.
Bruno in the audience chuckled.
He seemed somewhat proud.
Wendy, Kermit, Seth, and Laurel were all secretly happy too.
Irvin was about to go to jail.
As long as Irvin was in prison, the Lambert Group belonged to them.
Even if Laurel had the ability, she couldn’t fight against all of them.
“How did you know that Irvin had signed a private contract with Victor?” Steven asked.
“Because I also intervened in this contract. I had actually. worked with the Lambert Group twice before,
but they were all small projects. I accidentally overheard an employee of the Lambert Group saying that
they wanted to purchase the land of Marigold Estates. Coincidentally, the owner of Marigold Estates is
a distant relative of mine, so I helped them make contact, allowing me to secure the construction bid for
Marigold Estates. With my efforts, the deal was eventually reached. However, at that time, they needed
to sign a private contract worth 16 million dollars, and Victor was actually worried that the Lambert
Group would not pay after signing the contract. I was responsible for persuading them, so I am very
familiar with the details.”
“Alright, I basically understood the process of this case,” Steven said, respectfully addressing the
judge. “Your Honor, I request that the key individuals in my other cases be brought
Chapter 264 Court Hearing (2)
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to court to verify the authenticity of the informant Konan’s statement.”
‘Allowed.”
The second one to appear in court was Victor.
Victor replied, “Yes. When I was asked to sign the private contract at that time, I was worried about not
getting paid, so I told Konan about it. He provided me with written guarantee, and only then did I agree.
I have the private signed contract between me and the Chairman of the Lambert Group, Irvin, as well
as Konan’s written guarantee contract.”
Steven took it from Victor’s hand.
He submitted the evidence to the bench and said to Victor, “Do you know that private transactions are
illegal?”
“I don’t know. I am a farmer. If it wasn’t for this piece of land, I might have been farming at home for my
whole life. When the Lambert Group asked me to sign a private contract, they told me that this method
could greatly reduce taxes. I had no understanding of taxes and never thought that it would be breaking
the law. My only concern about the private contract was that I might not get paid.”
Zhang Wenzheng’s words were also reasonable and logical.
Laurel looked coldly.
Laurel knew what had happened.
Bruno was well-prepared.
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