Chapter 4 - BRIARSTONE
Hale Manufacturing’s records showed Briarstone was a legitimate approved vendor.
At least on paper.
Services billed:
procurement strategy,
supplier analytics,
equipment-utilization studies,
contract benchmarking.
Total paid over five years:
$3.61 million.
Exactly the number in Daniel’s notebook.
Claire and Grace brought in forensic accountant Priya Shah.
Priya did not begin with fraud.
She began with value.
“Did Briarstone perform work?”
Some.
There were:
reports,
PowerPoint decks,
spreadsheet analyses,
vendor comparisons.
The work was not entirely fake.
That mattered.
Priya estimated fair value of documented services at perhaps:
$520,000 to $740,000.
The rest was questionable.
Overbilling?
Related-party extraction?
Kickbacks?
Still unknown.
Company approval records showed Daniel signed many invoices as CFO.
Michael approved several as CEO.
Evan Mercer controlled Briarstone.
Claire looked at Priya.
“So Daniel stole from his own company.”
Priya answered carefully.
“He approved payments that appear grossly disproportionate to documented work.”
“Meaning yes.”
“Meaning we still trace where the money went.”
Smart cases used verbs carefully.
Claire was learning that.
Then Priya found distributions from Briarstone.
Payments to:
Mercer Advisory Group.
D.H. Strategic.
M.H. Holdings.
D.H.
Daniel Hale.
M.H.
Michael Hale.
Claire stopped breathing.
The money was coming back.
May you like
Not all of it.
But enough.
