Seederman

I was trying to do a little research on the life of the late Japanese AV actress/TV talento Iijima Ai, and found some allusions to a rumor of involvement with the participants in the heinous 1989 confinement and torture/murder of high school girl Junko Furuta. Unfortunately, my Japanese reading ability isn't so hot, and I can't understand the gist of the rumor... It appears she may have known some of the youths who were later arrested?

If I search the internet using roman letters "Iijima Ai", almost no English language information comes up at all, and nothing referring to this rumor whatsoever.

But if I search her name in Japanese "飯島 愛", and add "足立" (Adachi) a lot of blogs and articles come up that refer to both Iijima Ai and the murder in the same story... Some seem to imply that she (Ai) was the victim of an extortion plot that stemmed from her involvement with the murderers. I can't tell really; the Google translation is semi-nonsense.

I know this is a longshot, but is anyone out there familiar with this rumor? If so, could you just summarize in a paragraph or two what the rumor is?

Thanks for any info.

I'm in a weird situation.

An acquaintance, who is a CPA, offered to go over my last six years' tax returns to help me fix some errors. She offered to do this work for free at first, but two of those years were very difficult for her to check, because I had made a lot of stock trades in that time period (about 500) and she needed to review each one, which meant she had to spend a lot of time doing very dull work.

I felt sorry for her, because when she offered, she didn't know it would be such a big job. So, I offered to pay her for her services, even though I don't have much money right now, and very big debts to pay.

She said "we'll talk about that later", and instead, just kept doing the work. I brought up the option of paying her several times, and each time, she said "we'll discuss it later". We never discussed how much I should pay.

This week, she finished the work and mailed it to the tax agencies. Then, she arrived at my apartment, and handed me a bill for $3300. This bill is ridiculous in my inability to pay it, and she knows it (she knows precisely how much money I have). I was pretty angry, because she had never informed me of a price earlier, despite my efforts to discuss it with her. She told me she'd give me a break on just take $500 a month. I told her there's no way I can afford that, and told her that $300 a month will leave me with $0.00 per month for food. She agreed to $300 a month, and told me to write her 11 checks, postdated. I refused to do that, and gave her one check for $300, and told her that I'd pay her monthly, perhaps more if I have a good month (my income fluctuates, depending on business).

She was angry with this, and complained she wouldn't get paid for 11 months, and I pointed out to her that it was her that set such a high price, knowing full well I have no money.

My question is:

Is this even legal? Can a licensed CPA do work for a client without revealing how much it will cost, or her hourly rate, and just hit the client with a surprise bill, which isn't even itemized? Is $3300 really the going rate for preparing 6 tax forms? We have no written or oral contract.

I already paid her $400 a month ago for "software" she uses to do the taxes, so I'm really being asked for $3700.

I feel as though I have been set up, and am being taken advantage of.

I live in California, if this is relevent.

I have a problem with my company, which I am reluctant to bring to them...

I get paid for work done from the 26th to the 10th on the 25th of the month, and work done on the 11th to the 25th on the 1st of the following month.

Every 3 months, our office closes for one week. We cannot get our paychecks that week, unless we want them mailed. If they get lost in the mail, we have to pay the company's check cancellation fee and wait weeks before a replacement check is offered.

When the checks are mailed, they do not arrive on payday. They often arrive late, and I haven't gotten the one due on the 1st yet.

I looked at the California Labor Code, Section 204. Here is what I understand from it:

1. The pay schedule is not in compilance. Work done from the 1st to the 15th has to be paid no later than the 26th... But I only get paid through the 10th. Similarly, all work done from the 16th to the 31st must be paid no later than the 10th... I only get paid through the 25th...

2. Paydays have to be designated as the "actual" payday. Making me arbitrarily wait until someone gets to a mailbox, or wait until the vacation is over seems to be braking the concept of a regular, designated payday.

3. Notice of when paychecks will be given must be posted somewhere (it isn't)

4. Forcing me to pay a fine in order to receive a replacement check when one is lost in the mail seems unfair, and illegal. Why do I have to pay a fine for being paid late?

This is a medium-sized company-- 5 branches, with about 80 full-time employees, and another 80 part-timers.

Am I incorrect in believing this is in noncompliance with the law?

These holidays, when we must get a late check, or have it mailed (late) has created some hardships for me and other employees. I would like to alert the company to their noncompliance (in a stealthy way that won't get me fired), but first I want to make sure I am not misreading the law...

Can any attorney or someone knowledgeable of California labor laws clue me in? Many thanks in advance.