Judge Ronald L. (“Ingenuity”) Buch, a brilliant lawyer, seems a modern-day descendant of Mark Twain’s lawyer-hero David Wilson. More so as David Wilson, Esq., was a citizen of Dawson’s Landing, and Judge Buch works out of Dawson’s Creek.

I draw the parallel because, beside legal acumen and outside-the-box thinking, Judge Buch, like Pudd’nhead Wilson, finds that “now and then a merchant got him to straighten out his books.” The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson, Ch. II.

Like Wilson’s heroic courtroom rescue of the Capello twins, Judge Buch rescues Faysal Warfa & Aisha Ibrahim, Docket No. 7562-19, filed 5/4/23 from some of Faysal’s sloppy bookkeeping.

To avoid any political inference being drawn, as this is a firmly nonpolitical blog, I will not talk about people like Faysal being those who made this country, including without in any way limiting the generality of the foregoing, my own ancestors and those, no doubt, of my readers, or the need for similar takers of entrepreneurial risks and willingness to work hard and long.

You can read Faysal’s CV at Transcript, pp. 4-5.

As usual, Faysal’s bookkeeping lagged behind his endeavors. People who build countries generally are too busy to keep books. And those who bankroll them, like Mr. Mowlid Hussein, tell somewhat sketchy tales of cash in envelopes, and then change their stories when the cash is too big to fit in the usual #10. Transcript, at p. 9.

Still, there are enough credible tales and bank statements to shore up Faysal’s story about his Ethiopian real estate and construction business that got halted by political instability.  So not all the money Faysal got was his, and therefore unreported income.

But Faysal couldn’t prove it all, despite his modest lifestyle (rented homes, a 2011 GMC truck in MN; must be the ultimate rustbucket), and no proof of reasonable cause. Judge Buch saves what he can, but the Rule 155 beancount may result in Section 6662(a) chops for Faysal & Aisha.