My mom was terminally ill.
I'm holding her stuff because it's sentimental.
There's a picture of me and my mother.
That's all I wanted.
Did you tell that to your sister?
Yes, I did.
I mean, I can get it. You know, I--
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
♪
Shatonya Bentley is suing her sister, Calvise Bentley, for moving costs.
[bailiff] Court come to order.
All, rise.
Have a seat, please.
Hello, Judge. Case 2106, Bentley versus Bentley.
- Okay, thank you. - You're welcome.
Ms. Bentley, this is your sister.
- Yes. - The case is relatively simple.
Your mom passed away a couple of years ago.
There was a house full of furniture that belong to your mother.
According to what I've read, and this is broad strokes.
According to what I read, your sister--
- What's your first name? - Calvise.
[Judy] Put your mother's property in a storage unit.
Excuse me. It was already in storage.
[Judy] Who had put it in storage?
My mom put it in storage. My mom was terminally ill,
and she put it in storage three months before she passed away.
- [Judy] Is that correct? - Yes.
On what date did your mom pass?
November the 8th, 2018.
[Judy] So it would've been in storage since August of 2018?
- - - Correct. - From August till November,
who paid for the storage unit?
- I have been paying it. - And how much is it every month?
Right now it's 209, but it was 182 in the beginning.
Right about $200 a month, and it's been three years?
Yes, I've been paying it every month.
This is what your case is about.
You say that you gave your sister $900
for the purpose of traveling,
getting your mother's things out of storage
so that you could all disperse your mother's property.
Yes. But the amount is incorrect.
- [Judy] What's the amount? - I gave her $800.
- [Judy] Okay. $800. - Yes.
In order to get your mother's furniture to where you live.
- Uh-huh. - So that you could separate the furniture
and the family could take what they wanted
or needed of the property, correct?
- That's correct. - Good. Then COVID struck,
your sister didn't use that money to travel,
to hire truckers to move the furniture, and you want that money back.
- Yes, that's correct. - [Judy] That's the whole case. Okay.
Just for my own information, you do expect when that furniture arrives
to be one of the beneficiaries of that furniture,
that's what your sister says.
She says that that's the plan once it all comes back.
That's not correct. I didn't want anything out of the storage,
- but pictures. - Pictures?
- [Shatonya] Yeah. - Well, pictures of things.
- Yes. That's it. - Pictures of what?
There's a picture of me and my mother. That's all I wanted.
Did you tell that to your sister?
- Yes, I did. - [Judy] Did she?
- No. - How many sisters are there?
It's only two of us now. It was four, two deceased.
Did your mother have any other property?
My mother has a whole two-bedroom home and the storage.
- She has furniture, everything. - [Judy] Other than furniture.
No. Clothes, well, clothes, pictures, yes. Things like that, yes.
Is there any property in that storage unit that you want?
Well, I'm holding her stuff because it's sentimental.
I mean, I can get it, you know-- You know, I wouldn't mind having it,
but it's really it--
she got a lot of sentimental stuff in there,
so that's what I've been paying.
- [Judy] Furniture? - Yes, furniture.
- [Judy] Furniture. - Pictures, everything, you know.
Okay. How far away is the storage unit from where you live?
It's in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- [Judy] How far away? - Ten-hour drive.
We stay in Michigan
and the storage is in North Carolina, Charlotte.
Anybody that you know live there close to the storage unit?
My aunt and my cousin does.
And this picture that you wanted, do you know where it is?
It's in the photo album with the rest of the pictures.
And other than that one picture in a photo album,
you don't want anything else,
- any of the other property. - No.
[Judy] You two were the heirs, is that right?
We have a brother.
Does he have, as far as you know,
any interest in any of your mother's properties?
No. When my mom passed,
it was me, my niece
and my older brother there at the time of death.
And so he got everything he wanted out
and he gave me the key because I was the next to older one
'cause she wasn't there, so he was like, "So y'all do what y'all wanna do with it."
And so that's when I told her I'll pay it until we go get it.
You said, "I'll pay for the storage until we go and get it?"
- Yeah. - [Judy] Okay. Now I'd like you to tell me
about this money that she gave you.
Do you remember when she gave you the--
Gave me the money, I wanna say May of 2020.
And can you tell me what the conversation was
- when she gave you the money. - It was, here is the money
to go towards going to get the things, you know.
And so I told her, "Well, I'll find a way to go get it."
I didn't never give her a designated time,
but during that time that was COVID,
so no one was able to go, and so I was gonna go this year
because I just signed the papers to go and go get the stuff.
But no one still was able to go.
She never once said that this was money long to go get it.
No, no, no. No. She had designated it
- to go and get the property? - [Calvise] Yes.
[Judy] And you didn't use it to go and get the property.
- I used it to towards the storage. - [Judy] No.
I'm sorry, go ahead. No.
- [Judy] The answer is no. - [Calvise] No.
So that's what her complaint is,
that it wasn't used for its intended purpose,
which was to go rent a truck, movers,
and bring the property to where you both live.
- Yeah. Mm-hmm. - [Judy] Okay. And she did give you $800.
- Yes. - [Judy] Okay. And Ms. Bentley,
you're prepared to sign a document that indicates
that the only property you want from storage
is a photograph of you and your mother that's in a photo album
- - - Yes. - [Judy] That you want nothing else,
that everything else belongs to either your sister or any other heirs
that have the legitimate claim on any of that property.
- But you want nothing else. - That's fine.
- [Judy] Reasonable? - Fine.
- [Judy] Perfect. - [Calvise laughs]
I'm entering a judgment for the plaintiff
for the amount of $800 with the proviso
that the plaintiff will in fact, sign that document
indicating she wants nothing but one photograph from the storage unit.
- I gave her 150 back. - [Judy] Did she give you 150 back?
She did give me 150 back.
You paid her back, so she owes you 650.
- Mm-hmm. - [Judy] Judgement for the plaintiff, 650.
- Thank you very much. - Thank you.
[bailiff] This court is adjourned.
It was my mother's stuff. I just was trying to get the stuff.
It was in storage for long enough.
- - - We haven't talked in a whole year. - We're not close.
You know, all she want is the picture? I'll give her a picture.
At least I got what I wanted.
We still sisters, still love her.
- Those looked like two nice sisters, - Mm-hmm.
and I think part of that problem is the intervention of COVID,
which really turned everybody's life upside down.
Especially family units.
Family units, 'cause I think that that was the intention,
- that she was gonna pay for it - Mm-hmm.
or be brought up, use that money
and then they would go through the property
and decide who wanted what and what would be disposed of.
It's not an egregious case of misappropriation of funds.
- All well-intentioned, I think. - [Judy] Well-intentioned.
I thought it was a sweet case.
Case 2111, Banks versus Mitchell.
All parties, please step forward.
[narrator] Queen Vanessa Banks
is suing her former friend, Fulton Mitchell
for an unpaid loan and stolen money.
Ms. Banks, what kind of work do you do?
I'm a city contractor for the city and county of San Francisco.
How long have you been working for the city of San Francisco?
30 years. [Judy] You're a full-time employee?
No, I'm a contractor, so I'm used as needed.
Well, in the last month, how many days have you worked?
Like around 40 hours the whole month.
- [Judy] How do you support yourself? - I'm on disability.
How long have you been on disability?
Since roughly like a month, February of 2022.
When you applied for disability,
were you originally rejected or did they accept your claim?
I was rejected three times actually.
So when you started collecting in February of 2022,
you got a big check for back disability?
- Yes, ma'am. - I know my business.
How much of a check did you get?
- I got, um... - [Judy] Don't think--
[Queen Vanessa] 7,000 the first time
and they just submitted me like 8,000 a month or two ago
and then there was some more coming and they all came yet.
[Judy] Mm-hmm.
They advised you, because you were rejected
as you said, two or three times,
that there would be a total amount coming to you.
You got a letter from the administration.
- Yes, ma'am. - Yes. And what is the total amount
that they told you you would be receiving in increments?
I think it was, like, 18,000.
[Judy] And you had a lawyer at the appeal.
- Yes, ma'am. - Now when you applied for disability,
did you say that there was no kind of work that you could do?
How jaundiced.
I know that people put money in somebody else's bank
when they wanna hide it from the government, creditors,
a spouse looking for support,
or what I would call nefarious reasons
to put money in somebody else's bank.
♪
[narrator] Queen Vanessa Banks claims her former friend, Fulton Mitchell
stole money from their shared bank account.
And when you applied for disability,
did you say that there was no kind of work that you could do?
- Well, actually-- - [Judy] No, no, not actually.
They're giving you $18,000.
They said that they should have taken your case
when you first applied for disability.
So they had to have found that you could not hold gainful employment.
That's what it's all about when you get federal disability.
- Right. - Right. So I wanna know what
these 40 hours a month that you worked last month
as an independent contractor,
what kind of independent contractor were you?
I actually sit on Zooms and I am a consultant,
so I'm on Zooms most of the time.
And when you're not on Zooms, where are you?
- At home. - [Judy] What do you consult about?
I am an urban consultant, so I work with various people
that's trying to find out about urban living and mental health.
Basically working around mental health.
- How are you paid? - [Queen Vanessa] They might--
- [Judy] No, not "might." - They mail a check.
What do you do with that check?
I usually cash it at a store in a community.
You cash it. What is your hourly wage?
- As a consultant? - [Judy] Yeah.
I'm used to paid, like, 130 a hour.
And what's the amount of money you get from disability a month,
not counting these extra payments for when they denied your disability?
A thousand dollars.
So you get a thousand dollars a month,
plus $130 an hour times the last month,
you said was 40 hours, so you make four, $5,000 a month
- from your consulting job, the City-- - No way.
Well, am I correct, Whitney, that Ms. Banks said
that she worked about 40 hours last month?
- Can I explain something? Not all-- - No. No.
She said "Around 40 hours the whole month."
Okay, would you tell me what she says she earns an hour.
- It's usually 130 an hour. - $5,200.
And when you get the checks for these consulting things,
you take them and you cash them.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judy] That's either a yes or no.
Do you work as a sole independent contractor
or do you have an LLC or corporation?
- No, ma'am. - [Judy] So the checks are made out to you.
- - - Yes, ma'am. - [Judy] As an independent contractor,
- - - Yes, ma'am. - [Judy] you have to pay your own taxes.
So you have 1099 from all these people?
Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] What did you declare on your taxes last year?
- I didn't file taxes last year, ma'am. - [Judy] Why not?
You said you've been working in this capacity on and off for 30 years.
Because ma'am, where I come from,
a lot of the work is volunteer-work considered,
and you are given a stipend,
and some of the work I do sometimes I don't even get paid,
but I still do the work.
Listen, you know exactly where I'm going.
We're two savvy people.
When you cash those checks,
because this is what the case is about, for some reason,
'cause I'm trying to figure out why somebody puts money
into somebody else's bank account,
because part of this case is about that,
you and Mr. Mitchell became friends maybe a little bit more than friends.
I know at some point, according to you,
you gave him money to hold in his bank account
because his bank account was closer to where you are
and you didn't wanna go on two buses to where your bank was.
- Am I getting that right? Is that what-- - No. No, ma'am.
Let's see, I'll tell you why I made these inquiries to you.
“I was struggling to find a way to get access to my money.
I always took the bus to the bank,
but during COVID, public transportation shut down
and was completely unreliable and I was in a bind.”
This is what you wrote.
When Fulton heard about my problem,
he offered to hold my money for me in his bank.
He said that he didn't keep any money in that account,
so it would be perfect because his bank was right where I worked.
I only know of several reasons
why strangers put money in somebody else's account.
You know, I may have an account with Sarah,
I may have an account with one of my other grandchildren,
I have an account with my husband,
but I've had a best friend for 70 years, another best friend for 30 years,
and I would never think of putting money in their bank account
because there are banks all over the place.
I'm just telling you, you know, how jaundiced.
I know that people put money in somebody else's bank
when they wanna hide it,
when they wanna hide it from the government,
creditors, a spouse looking for support,
a spouse looking for alimony,
a contractor who has a judgment against them,
or what I would call nefarious reasons
to put money in somebody else's bank.
But let us say that you did put money in his bank account,
and you say that money was withdrawn,
your money was withdrawn from that account to pay his taxes.
- Is that what you're alleging? - Yes, ma'am.
Okay. How much was withdrawn from his account
that only his name was on or was your name on it, too?
- My name was on it, too. - [Judy] Oh, there we go.
Now I can understand it why you might owe taxes.
I don't know anything about his business,
but I can certainly understand that you might.
Did you receive notice that the IRS
took money out of this bank account
which was then, a joint bank account?
- No, I did not. - [Judy] So with her name was on it,
- it was a joint account. - Uh, it was not.
It was my account and I added her name to my account.
[Judy] That's okay. That makes it a joint account.
- Yes. - Okay, well, I didn't have
that information in here
because joint account is absolutely different.
Joint account means that the money belongs to both of you.
Now, what makes makes you think
that the money that was taken out of the account was to pay his taxes?
- - - Because I have proof. - [Judy] I'd like to see it.
What account is this? Whose money is that?
- Mine. - [Judy] Explain that to me.
This is a deposit here for $988.68.
- What is that? - That's when the pandemic hit
and the struggle started getting hard trying to get money.
And being that man was business partners,
that's when he decided to try to help me out.
You know, I neither have the time
or the interest to hear about the nuances of this stuff
because I don't have the wherewithal
either emotionally or structurally to figure out the whole scam.
I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'm beginning to figure it out.
So you deposited 988.
and then withdrew at some point in May.
That was on June 9th. I don't have the rest of it here.
But you withdrew $1,600 from that account on May 25th.
Do you remember what that was for? The sixteen--
May 25th?
Yeah, May 25th, $1,600, June 3rd, tax levy, 2,711.
The May 25th is-- 'cause that's my daughter's birthday,
and I spent time with my daughter,
and then the June 3rd tax levy is why I'm here with you today.
What kind of business were you in together with the defendant?
- You want me to answer that? - [Judy] No, you answer.
[Queen Vanessa] What type of business we had together?
He works for the city and county.
I'm a grassroot organizer, so I work within his organization
so that we can do things together.
That's not true.
Your Honor, I have proof. I do work with his organization.
- I'm putting on a Halloween event-- - [Judy] I don't care.
Let's understand each other.
I don't care because something doesn't smell right for me.
And if something doesn't smell right with this nose,
it's usually accurate. Usually.
♪
You said you took out a thousand dollars, when and for what purpose?
I took out a thousand dollars and I gave it to Ms. Banks.
- - - That's not what you said. - What did I say?
[laughs]
It's not what you said. It's not what you swore to.
♪
[narrator] Queen Vanessa Banks
is suing her former friend, Fulton Mitchell
for an unpaid loan and stolen money.
When someone puts money in somebody else's bank account,
it's because they're trying to somehow shield that money
from some sort of scrutiny.
If your only source of income, which you would like me to believe
is this thousand dollars from disability
and the $18,000 that you're going to get
for retro-acting on disability--
She was on some other kind of services also.
I don't know whether it was SSI or something.
When she first came to me,
she wanted me to hold the money and put it in my account
because she didn't want to mess up her money.
That's not true. That's not true, Your Honor.
He started helping me in 2019.
In 2020, he asked me for a loan
to help one of his daughters, of $1,900.
We were both trying to start up a business.
We didn't know the pandemic was gonna come, Your Honor.
We was trying to start up a business.
I've never tried to started up a business.
- [Judy] Just a second-- - Your Honor, I got proof,
'cause he lying to you.
[Judy] Just a second.
I don't care that you were starting a business,
it doesn't make any difference to me.
It really doesn't make any difference to me.
You had a joint account,
and the IRS took money out of that joint account.
- Was that your tax debt? - I don't know.
[Judy] The answer is you don't know.
[stammers]
Okay. Well, this says that it was the levy
from California Franchise Tax Board was against Fulton W. Mitchell.
- [Fulton] That me. - [Judy] That's what it's here.
I asked her to show me that, I said "Prove it to me."
No, she never showed me that ever.
Okay, so my question to you was, sir,
because of course you have to pay your own taxes.
- Yes, ma'am. - [Judy] Right?
You would acknowledge that this bank account
had only her funds in it?
No, it had my funds in it, too.
Show me any deposits that you made into this--
Well, I had money in way before I put her money into my account.
It's been my account for over ten, fifteen years.
- - - What I want to see, Mr. Fulton-- - Yes.
Is any place where you deposited 2,711,
because that's what they took out.
No, I didn't deposit 2,711 into that account.
- [Judy] Ever? - No.
Okay, good. This responsibility is yours.
- You would acknowledge that it's yours? - Yes. Yes.
Okay, so that's $2,700 which you in fact owe her.
She probably owes IRS or the state of California more money
because I'm not sure that they know where all this money is going.
Did you take any other money out of that account?
- No, ma'am. - [Judy] Yes, you did.
You took out a thousand dollars.
You acknowledged you took out a thousand dollars by accident,
you said, sir, and you said you paid it back.
- She got it back. - [Judy] Okay, well then don't say--
- That's not true, Your Honor. - [Judy] Shh! Don't speak.
You got into enough trouble, right? So far.
You said you took out a thousand dollars when and for what purpose?
I took out a thousand dollars and I gave it to Ms. Banks.
- That's not what you said. - What did I say, um, Miss Judy?
[all laugh]
[Judy] It's not what you said. It's not what swore to.
You said, "There was a time when I accidentally withdrew
a thousand dollars from the account that belonged to Vanessa,
- but I paid her back in June 2022." - There you go.
I said-- What do you mean "There you go"?
I said, when did you take money out of her account?
That was the only time I took the money out.
- Well, tell me about it. - Vanessa started harassing me.
She started showing up to my job and just doing all kind of stuff.
- So I was just trying to get rid of her. - [Judy] And?
[Fulton] So I took the money out and gave it to her, and I'm--
Just a second. Put your hand down.
- Don't you understand what you signed? - Yeah.
You said, "I accidentally took money out of her account,
but then I gave it back to her."
Because if you accidentally took it out, it means it didn't belong to you.
When did you accidentally take it out and when did you give it back to her?
I took out the money and the money was given to her.
That was it. I didn't-- that was it. I was done with it.
I was done with her, I was done with--with all of it.
“There was a time when I accidentally withdrew
a thousand dollars from the account that belonged to Vanessa,
but I paid that back in June 2022.”
Those words are mixed up a little bit there.
That's what I read. That's your answer, sir.
"As for the rest of the money she claims I owe her
it's all a bunch of lies.
I never took a $1,900 loan and don't owe money for the IRS."
Well, you do owe money for the IRS,
because one of the things I think that everybody has to pay
is their own tax levy and their own child support.
- You would acknowledge that. - [Fulton] I agree.
Okay, tell me about this loan of $1,900, Ms. Banks.
Mr. Mitchell had fell into a lot hardship in the pandemic,
and he came to me and asked me could I loan him $1,900
to help out one of his daughters.
And I gave it to him, and he agreed to pay it back.
And we was just like trying to handle business together,
so and I thought he was a friend.
Show me proof that you gave him $1,900.
It was cash, Your Honor.
The thousand dollars he said he handed me back in June,
that was from the 1,900.
I'm not following you, madam.
Are you saying that he in total owed you--
Forget the IRS, 2,900, a thousand dollars, that he took in 19?
- He asked for $1,900 in cash. - I never asked you for $1,900.
- I gave him $1,900 in cash. - Not true.
Then he paid me back a thousand in June of 2022.
If I have money in my account, why would I ask you for $1,900?
I would just go in there and grab it. That makes no sense.
Just a second. Why are you talking to her?
- [Fulton] I'm sorry. - Where do you think you are?
I'm sorry. I apologize. She's never given me no $1,900.
She's never given me anything in cash, period, ever.
- I have proof. - I'm willing to look at it.
Yes. I told him that I needed to move forward with it,
and if you don't give me what I need, I'll put it in writing.
Well, you may put it in writing.
Well, you sent this to him, and it says,
"Acknowledgement of monetary debt in the amount of $4,600."
You typed this up and he never signed it.
- No, he never signed it. - [Judy] Yeah, well, then it's meaningless.
You can type up anything.
I can type up something that says I own all of Sarah's real estate.
If she doesn't sign it, I don't own anything.
Well, that's where a thousand dollars came from,
'cause he was trying to cover that.
Yeah. You know, somehow, I think I'm dealing with--
I'm not sure about one or two people who manage to master the system.
- No, not at all-- - [Judy] I don't know. I don't know.
All I know is if somebody is working--
- ...for twenty-five years-- - [Judy] Just a second, just a second.
There's a reason why she asked to be added
to your bank account. Do you understand?
Yes, ma'am.
You don't-- Look, 'cause if you're a foolish man,
what was the reason she gave you for wanting to have a bank account
where you were the primary on that bank account?
What was the reason she gave you?
She gave me the reason that she didn't want it to mess up her income.
- That's not true. - [Judy] Just a second.
So she said "I don't want it to m--"
She said she didn't wanna put it in her name
'cause she didn't wanna mess up her income that she had coming in.
- Her income from what? - Some kind of assistance.
I'm not sure exactly what it was.
[Judy] Whatever. Anyway, got a nice windfall, $18,000.
By the way, I have one other question for you.
In your complaint, which you read and signed and swore to,
"Fulton heard about my problems with money and where to put it.
And he offered to hold my money in his account.
He said he doesn't keep any money in there,
so it would be perfect, because his bank was right where I worked."
Where was his bank? And where do you work?
I work in the community that I was born and raised in,
- which is Bay View-- - Okay.
I'm not gonna get a straight answer.
You owe her for her tax debt, nothing else, $2,700.
- [bailiff] This court is adjourned. - That's it. You're done.
- - - I watch her, like, every day. - It was fair.
I'm thankful that she saw what it was for what it was.
You know, she asked me to put some money in account for her. I did.
I never had to harass him.
We were business partners for two or three years.
I don't know if it was a business agreement or not.
Because I told him I want my money.
I'm just happy it's over with.
[Judy] You know what I was thinking about?
I was thinking that I wouldn't have had that information
about Social Security disability
unless Poppy was an administrative law judge
with Social Security 40 years ago.
And I remember exactly what the drill was.
File, you're rejected, you file, you're rejected.
And finally you have to hire a lawyer,
and the lawyer gets a big chunk of the relief
- and you get all your back payments. - Yup.
So I have a feeling I was dealing with two people
who had a substantial skill set in how to negotiate
and suck every dollar from the system,
whether it was deserved or not.
[narrator] Want justice?
Go to judyjustice.tv.
♪
[closing theme plays]