03x91 - Bingo Influencer Side Hustle

[bunniefuu]

[Judy] You made a loan
and she hasn't paid you back.

-I said, "You need to pay me."
-She said, "I want to help."

-And I said, "Okay."
-Never.

-This is my family's charity.
-You're in this to make money.

She never said, "I'm gonna make
a donation to your side hustle charity."

-[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
-[theme music]

Sunny Sun is suing
her former friend, Dana Gray,

for an unpaid loan she used
to start a charity bingo hall.

[Kevin]
All rise.

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin]
Judge, case 3142, Sun versus Gray.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

[Judy] Ms. Sun, it's a relatively
simple case that we will unravel.

You alleged that you made a loan to
Ms. Gray and she hasn't paid you back.

Ms. Gray said, no,
you never made a loan to her.

What you did was you made a
charitable donation. That's your defense.

-Is that right?
-Correct.

[Judy] Okay. So I'm gonna start with you.
Tell me what kind of work you do.

Sales and customer service.

[Judy] Right. Tell me what you
have to do with bingo.

[laughs] I've been doing bingo
since I was about 18 years old.

[Judy] What do you mean,
you've been doing bingo?

-[Judy] You're... playing the game?
-I... either playing or working it, yes.

[Judy] What does that mean,
playing or working?

Playing, I understand.
I've done that a couple of times myself.

-Working, I don't understand.
-Well, you have to have a 501[c][3].

-[Judy] Yeah.
-It has to be a charity

that you are supporting
for the bingo games in California.

-Okay.
-[Dana] And...

-Just a second.
-[Dana] Okay.

-[Judy] So you set up bingo games.
-[Dana] Mhm.

And part of the money that you get,
you donate to charity.

-And that is a source of income for you?
-No. I don't make any income.

-[Judy] Nothing?
-No.

-I do make tips, though.
-[Judy] Just a second.

-So you make income?
-[Dana] Yes. Correct.

[Judy]
And how long have you been doing that?

About 25 years now.

How much money annually
would you say, calculated guess,

that you make from the tips
from the business?

Annually, maybe 25,000.

Okay. And how many of these
bingo games do you do every year?

-We do it every week, once a week.
-Every week?

-[Dana] Once a week, correct.
-And what's the name of your 501[c][3]?

-Alpha Recovery Life Systems.
-[Judy] Okay. You got it?

-Mhm.
-I'm gonna stop there.

I'm gonna take a look at it and I
wanna see their last filed tax return.

-They don't pay taxes. It's a charity.
-If you're a 501[c][3], you have to file.

You pay somebody? You have an
employee at the 501[c][3]? One employee?

-I'll find out the answer from this.
-No. I don't have any employees.

This is my family's charity.

What I'm saying is,
you don't pay anybody from the money

-that you collect at the bingo games.
-[Dana] Correct.

-[Judy] Nobody gets paid.
-Correct.

-So, for a 501[c][3] look up.
-[Judy] You're located 12 [...] Road?

-Correct.
-Who lives there?

[Dana] My father,
another employee at the charity.

[Judy] What do you mean,
another employee of the charity?

First, you said there were none.
Hold on. Let's get this straight.

How much does your father
get paid from the charity?

-[Dana] I don't know.
-[Judy] What do you mean, you don't know?

[Dana] I... it's just a fundraiser
for the charity

to help support all the
programs they have.

So I don't have anything
to do with that part.

[Sarah] According to their
filing requirement code,

it says they've stated they make
income less than 25,000 per year.

[Judy]
Well, she makes 25,000 a year in tips.

[Sarah] Well, that's just the
type of filing, the 990.

-Mhm.
-"Required to file Form 990-N,

-income less than 25,000 a year."
-[Judy] Cute.

[Dana] The charity's only been
in existence since April.

[Judy]
Cute. Cute. Cute. Okay.

So I want you to tell me
how first did you meet her?

I've been playing bingo
with Sunny for over 20 years.

[Judy] And I want you to tell me
about the $6,000 she gave you.

-Well, I was opening up the bingo parlor.
-[Judy] Just a second.

Opening up what bingo parlor and when?

The grand opening
was on April the 16th, 2023.

-[Judy] Where?
-In Lake Forest, California.

[Judy]
Who pays the rent?

-[Dana] Who pays the rent for the...
-Who pays the rent?

You were opening up a place...

-[Dana] Oh!
-[Judy] ...to play bingo.

-[Dana] We...
-Who pays the rent?

We pay the rent from the
proceeds of the bingo game.

And then there are people
who run the bingo game.

-Correct.
-[Judy] And who pays them?

We're all volunteers.

Well, you're not a volunteer.
You make tips. That's the idea.

-[Dana] All of...
-That's how you make money.

-You make 25,000 a year. Tips in cash?
-Yes.

Yes. How much do you have to pay
to play a game of bingo?

-Between 300 to 3,000.
-[Judy] To play one game?

-One day.
-One whole day?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Is that right?

You pay either between 300 or 3,000
to play bingo for a day?

For the charity... I'm sorry.

-Are you saying the player?
-[Judy] No. I asked her...

-[Sunny] To play bingo.
-[Judy] ...how much did it cost

-for Ms. Sun to play bingo for a day?
-Oh, the buy-in...

-[Judy] No. I asked her.
-Oh, okay.

-She said between 300 and 3,000.
-Yes.

-[Judy] Right?
-Yes.

[Judy] And how many people
would you say you play with at one time?

-In her place?
-[Judy] Let's start in her place,

because her place,
she says, is for charity.

When I start the first day,
we had at about 150 people.

[Judy] And 150 people
and you play once a week.

-Once a week.
-[Judy] Okay.

And 150 people is an
average number of people?

No. After first week,
about 50 to 60 people.

[Judy] Okay. And those people pay
anywhere between $300 and $3,000 to play?

-Maybe 200 to 2...
-[Judy] No.

That's a big span.

You have to buy-in to play bingo.

-[Judy] Yes.
-The minimum buy-in was $40.

-There are side...
-And does that go up?

There are side games that you can purchase
on your own that are a dollar apiece.

So you can purchase 20,
you can purchase 100.

Some people, such as Sunny, will probably
spend that much money at one time,

-but there are some people that won't.
-[Judy] Very good.

But the buy-in is $40.

-[Judy] So if you have 50 people...
-[Dana] Mhm.

...how much of that weekly
goes to the charity?

-After the balance, if we have 50 people?
-[Judy] No, no, no, no. You see this face?

-Yes.
-This is an old face,

-but it's a smart face.
-[Dana] Of course.

You are not in this business
for your charity.

You're in this business for money. That's
what it is. I know all about 501[c][3]s.

I was involved in a 501[c][3].
I got out of a 501[c][3].

I know all about 501[c][3]s and I know
what the costs are around the 501[c][3].

So let's understand each other.
You are not in this for charity.

You are in it because
you make money from it.

The fact that you may donate some
of the proceeds to a charity is nice,

but we both know
that you're in it to make money.

[theme music]

-Whose account is this?
-[Dana] Mine.

-[Judy] Your personal account?
-Correct.

-[laughs]
-[courtroom titters]

[Judy] Your defense to her action is that
she was making a charitable donation.

Why isn't this made payable to a charity?

[theme music]

[announcer] Sunny Sun claims
her former friend, Dana Gray,

owes for an unpaid loan
used to start a charity bingo hall.

Dana is countersuing
for defamation and lost wages.

So let's end any notion that I think that
you have totally altruistic motives

for being involved in this charity
to rehabilitate people.

-I want us to understand each other.
-[Dana] 100%.

-[Judy] We got it?
-Mhm.

-[Judy] Okay. Now...
-Can I show you

a profit and loss statement so you can see
how the breakdown goes?

Do you think that I'm gonna believe that

-after what I just read on the internet...
-[Sunny snickers]

[Judy] ...that you said that it
makes less than $25,000 a year?

You're gonna want me to believe
your profit and loss statement?

-Don't be ridiculous.
-No, I want you to see

how it's broken down so that you
can see how many people you have,

how much it cost for them to have it.

You're in this to make money.

-[Dana] For...
-Tangentially,

you also support a charity, but you make
money. You don't take your $25,000 a year,

if that's all you get,
and donate it to the charity.

You don't do that. You keep that.
So you're in it to make money.

She gave you $6,000. You've been
playing bingo with her for 20 years.

I want you to tell me a story
that this old but seasoned face...

-[Dana laughs]
-...is gonna believe.

-Do you understand?
-I do.

-[Judy] Alrighty. Let's start from there.
-Okay.

When I was starting up
my bingo game, the bingo parlor,

there were startup costs
that were associated with it.

Rental, paper, tabs,
the whole nine, okay?

-I also...
-I understand what you say.

I also have to have attendance.
You have to have people coming to play.

If you don't have people coming to play,

spending $300 or $3,000,
it doesn't work, okay?

I literally went to Sunny because
I called the place that she plays

and I said, "I'm opening up a bingo game.
I want you to come."

She lives in the neighborhood.
She said, "Let's talk about that."

I said, "Okay." We met for brunch.

-She paid. She said, "Let's talk."
-[Judy] No, no, no, no, no.

-Now you met for lunch.
-[Dana] Yes.

-[Judy] Brunch.
-[Dana] Brunch, 'cause we went to a cafe.

Go ahead. And now you are
opening up a bingo parlor...

-Yes.
-[Judy] ...where you're gonna make money.

-Correct.
-And you needed money for startup costs.

-[Dana] Correct.
-Okay.

-So now you're sitting down with Sunny.
-Okay.

-[Judy] Very slowly, so that this face...
-[courtroom laughs]

So that this face, madam, believes you.

Okay. Your Honor, I did not
need Sunny for startup money.

Just a second. Now, that's called
editorializing. Let's meet up for brunch.

-And?
-She...that's what she said,

"Let's meet up for brunch."
She asked me about the charity.

I told her about the charity. I told
her that it was going to cost a lot.

-I have already have things working.
-[Judy] No, no. No, no, no.

Tell me. I want you to say, "She said
this to me, we sat down for brunch."

-Okay.
-"I ordered..." I don't know.

"I ordered scrambled eggs. She ordered
oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon."

-[Dana] As a matter of fact, that's...
-"We both ordered coffee

and we started to talk
about my new business."

-Correct.
-[Judy] I want you to tell me

what you said to her
and what she said to you.

Then she's gonna tell me
her recollection of that.

-[Dana] Okay.
-[Judy] So make sure

-that I believe your recollection of it.
-[Dana] Okay.

When we were talking about the charity...

-[Judy] What...
-I said to her...

-I didn't hear you talking about charity.
-[Dana] I said to her

the bingo parlor was supposed to be
built out for my family's charity.

-She said, "Where do I have my 501[c]...?"
-[Judy] Just a second. Just a second.

You mean before that,
when you played bingo with her...

-Mhm.
-[Judy] ...she had no knowledge

that part of the money went to charity
from the other bingo games that you ran?

-[Dana] Yes. She does. Yes.
-[Judy] She did?

So this was not news to her
that you were opening this up.

[Dana] That you had to have a charity.
So she asked me what my charity was.

-I told her I got...
-I thought you said she knew about it.

[Dana] No. She... you know, you have
to have a charity to have a bingo game.

-So she asked me about my charity.
-[Judy] Madam, that's interesting...

that's interesting news that you have to
have a charity to have a bingo game.

So, now, now, it's all coming together.
I love when it all comes together.

-Okay.
-[Dana] Mhm.

-[Judy] Keep talking.
-[Dana] Okay.

I told her all the things that
I'd already done to get the games going.

I told her I got the license,
I got the insurance.

I got everything that was needed.
I found a spot to have it.

She asked me when I was gonna have
the grand opening. I told her in April.

-That was the extent of the conversation.
-[Judy] Good.

[Dana] Then she said, "How much are
you paying for to get this all started?"

I said, "I'm paying 6,000.
The charity is paying 12,000."

-That's exactly what I told her.
-[Judy] Okay.

She said, "How much are you paying?"

-You said, "I'm paying 6,000..."
-She said, "I want to help."

[Judy] "I'm paying 6,000
and the charity is paying 12,000."

-[Dana] Correct.
-Keep going.

'Cause we had to have the startup
cost covered. I said, "I have four TVs."

-She said, "I want to..."
-[Judy] A four... what?

You have to have monitors
all over the room.

-[Judy] Okay. You had four TVs.
-Okay. I have four TVs.

-[Judy] Okay. But, right now...
-So I gave her the list...

-...you had the startup money...
-[Dana] ...of all the things...

Just a second.
You've had your startup money.

-[Dana] Correct.
-You, 6,000, and your father, 12,000.

[Dana] Correct. So she said,
"I want to help." And I said, "Okay."

-Because I know that she knows...
-[Judy] Not because I know she knows.

Because she told me that the people
who come to the other bingo halls

who spend a lot of money, come because
she's there and she influences them.

And I said, "Well, that's great."
That's what I needed Sunny for.

I needed her to get people
to come to this bingo game,

especially for it being, like, grand
opening in, like, four weeks.

And she said, "I have influence with..."

all these other different
bingo halls that she's in.

And I said, "Oh, okay.
Well, that's great."

She said, "At first, I was gonna give you


Because she wanted
the same amount that I had done.

-I can show you my bank statement.
-It's not true.

I can show you my bank statements.
I had money in my accounts.

I did not need money from Sunny.

What I needed from her
is to get people to come to the bingo.

But you took her money.

-[Dana] I did. Of course I did.
-[laughs]

You didn't need money.
But you took her money.

-[Dana] I did, because the arrangement...
-Oh, my goodness.

-[Judy] Just a second. Just a second.
-[Dana] She said she had retired...

-Okay.
-Show me where you put her $6,000.

-[Dana] In savings.
-[Judy] I'd like to see it.

-Whose account is this?
-[Dana] Mine.

Your personal account?

-[Dana] Correct.
-[laughs]

[courtroom titters]

Your defense to her action is that
she was making a charitable donation.

Why isn't this made payable to a charity?
Charity she can deduct.

You took the $6,000 check
and put it in your own bank.

And I then put another deposit,
which you can see there,

to the charity to pay all the other stuff
we had to pay in the beginning...

[Judy]
Yeah, no.

-...which you can see.
-[Judy] You take her check,

and you put it in the charity. You put it
in the charity, in the 501[c][3].

Let's see. "Withdrawal, 04/12, $4,362."

-Where did that go?
-[Dana] To the charity.

-[Judy] Show me. Show me.
-I don't have that. I don't have that.

Show me on 04/12...

[Dana]
That's how I was gonna pay for everything.

I'm just curious. I wanna see.

On 04/12, you withdrew.
You didn't transfer, you withdrew $4,362.

Correct. I was trying to get
all the service stuff done, Your Honor.

-That was just how I did it.
-Yeah. Loosey-goosey.

[Dana] I can show you the invoices for
the vendors for that same timeframe.

-I don't give a rat's a*s.
-[theme music]

She said it was bingo support,
which is on the memo of her check.

Don't try to convince yourself, or me,
that she plays bingo to help a charity.

She doesn't. She plays bingo for fun.

[theme music]

[announcer] Sunny Sun claims
her former friend, Dana Gray,

owes for an unpaid loan
used to start a charity bingo hall.

Dana is countersuing
for defamation and lost wages.

Listen, you and I both know, madam...
I'm gonna get her story in a second,

just to wrap it all up, but you and I both
know that this is a 501[c][3] hustle.

People have a good time. They play bingo.
But the 501[c][3] covers you,

so that most of the costs
that are involved, you get to write off,

'cause it's a 501[c][3].
I got the hustle. Okay.

-[Dana] She... when she gave me that check...
-[Judy] Now...

[Judy] Now, I'm not asking you a question
anymore. There are no more questions.

Now, I would like you to get back
to the brunch. Do you remember...

-[Sunny] Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] ...having brunch with her?

The week before she was approaching me,
she's opening the bingo place.

And I say, "Okay.
We meet and let's talk." So we...

[Judy] What did you wanna talk
to her about, by the way?

-[laughs] Because... I play bingo.
-You play bingo regularly?

-[Sunny] Yes.
-I assume you win.

[Sunny]
Win and lose.

-I play two times a week.
-You win and lose.

Tell me what you do for a living.

I'm retired for the real estate
and finance advisor.

-Do you have a lot of money?
-Oh, no. I will say comfortable.

-[Judy] You're comfortable?
-Yes.

-[Judy] Okay.
-[Sunny] So I play the bingo.

And I probably spend more than her.
Even she goes four, five times a week.

I only goes two times a week. I can't
afford to go more than two times a week.

[Judy]
Okay. I want you to get back to the...

-Okay. So I met...
-[Judy] Get back to...

[Sunny]
Okay. I met her February 21st, 2023.

I met her. And she was telling me before
she need 5,000. And I said, "Okay."

[Judy]
Why did she tell you she needed 5,000 for?

[Sunny]


At that time, she told me her father's
foundation paid also 18,000. I said,

"Okay, then I will loan you 5,000."
And I said, "Okay. Where I write a check?"

And she said, "Oh, by the way,
put the 1,000 more, 6,000."

So I said, "Who should I write the check?"
She said, "Me."

Actually, the day before,
I changed my mind, I don't wanna do it.

And I told her, I say, "You know what?

I loan you some money, but I'm not gonna
involve the bingo." She gives me tears.

-My heart, it goes, you know, weak.
-Oh my...

So I said, "You know, okay, I help you."

Because she knows I know so many
big spenders for... and they follow me.

So, I gave her 6,000. And she told me,
"Sunny, I'll pay you right away, soon,

but over six months, I'll pay you."
I said, "Okay." She didn't pay,

because I'm the one who count
the money. I figured out all the tabs.

Like what she said, the dollar, you know,
spend extra money to buy tabs.

That's why people spend the money.
I know exactly how much she made.

And every single Sunday, I said, "You need
to pay me." She said, "Okay, okay, okay."

She said, "Oh, we're gonna make
a lot of money. I'll pay you."

So I said, "Okay.
I give you six months and you can pay me."

And she said, "Okay.
I'll pay you six months' time."

-Do you have any messages to that effect?
-[Sunny] No. It's just verbally.

-Okay. That's all I want to know.
-[Sunny] We talk... yes.

And then I've been working every Sunday,
bring all my friends there.

Lot of time I'm there before her,
which is about 11:30 to 6:30, all day.

I stand up and I help her for the...

-[Judy] Ms. Sun?
-[Sunny] Yes.

[Judy]
I'm gonna ask you a question.

I want you to be very, very careful
with your answer to me.

-You worked in real estate for a while?
-Yes, ma'am.

-So you had a business?
-[Sunny] Yes. I'm a businesswoman.

-I owned a couple businesses before.
-[Judy] Okay.

-And how old are you?
-Sixty-six.

-Do you live by yourself?
-No, I live with my husband.

[Judy]
Was he a working person?

He's a retired civil engineer
for many, many years.

Can you tell me how many charitable
donations in excess of $1,000

-you made over your lifetime?
-Never.

[Judy laughs] How did I know that?
We don't even know each other.

[Dana] Your Honor, she plays bingo twice
a week and spends over $1,200 each time.

-What does that have to do with you?
-That's to a charity.

[Judy] Just a minute. That's her pleasure.
You don't understand.

-Yes, that's my pleasure.
-No, no, no. That's not...

-that's not for a charity. [shushes]
-[Sunny] Charity. Yeah.

-You don't have to help me, Ms. Sun.
-[Dana] She's playing...

-[courtroom laughs]
-That's not for a charity.

-That's...
-[Judy] She plays bingo

because she likes it.

And the fact that you all have figured out
this side hustle to make money,

don't try to convince yourself or me
that she plays bingo to help a charity.

-She doesn't. She plays bingo for fun.
-[Dana] I understand that.

[Judy]
I know exactly who she is

and I know exactly that she's
never made a charitable donation

as a business person, with she and her
husband working, 'cause I know that.

I know that. And I know here and here,

that she never said I'm gonna make
a donation to your side hustle charity.

-She did not.
-[Sunny] Right.

She did not. She said it was bingo support
which is on the memo of her check.

It's bingo support.
She's a businesswoman.

[Judy] What does that mean,
she's a businesswoman?

That means she's gonna get the money back.

[Dana] She was supporting
the bingo for us starting it off.

-[Sunny] It's... if...
-[shushes] Just a second.

-[Dana] That's what it was for.
-[Sunny] It was a loan.

-I don't want you to speak.
-[chuckles]

[Dana]
Day one, she gave me this gold bracelet.

She gave me this gold bracelet, day one.
Say, "I hope we are off to a good start.

We're gonna be successful.
There's more to come."

-[Sunny] I want that back, but...
-[Judy] Just a second.

-[Sunny] ...she's not giving it back.
-I just... Don't.

-[Dana] She never asked me for that back.
-I don't want you to speak.

She gave you a gold bracelet.
"We're gonna be successful."

That means she's gonna get her money back.

-[Sunny] Correct.
-She's gonna get her money back.

What do you mean, "We are gonna
be successful?" She's not a charity.

-[Dana] She...
-You're the side hustle charity.

[Dana]
I literally said...

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $6,000.

It's just too bad that people
don't recognize the side hustles.

-Goodbye.
-[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

[theme music]

It wasn't really a charitable donation.
It was to support the charity.

It was a little bit different.

I'm so glad that I'm here and I think...
'cause everything was a great result.

We were both in it together,
and it did not do well.

And she literally got impatient
and was ready to stop.

I don't have that kind of money
to donating to anybody.

My heart is in the right place
for what everything I do for the charity

-and for the people in the community.
-No more bingo with her at all.

Some of the things that she said there
just was not even true.

You could probably tell
from my reaction to this case

that I'm sensitive
about administrative costs...

-[Sarah] Mhm. Sure.
-...and 501[c][3]s.

So much of every dollar
goes to administrative costs.

Sometimes, those administrative costs
are reasonable.

You donate a dollar, but they need 40
cents on that dollar in order to...

-Cover the cost. Mhm.
-[Judy] ...cover the costs.

Some, you donate a dollar,

-and 90 cents is cost.
-Mhm.

And only 10% go to feed
the hungry or save the dog

-or whatever.
-Mhm.

[Judy] If you make an item
and you sell it and you say,

"For every pair of sneakers I sell,
a portion is going to be donated."

-That don't make you a 501[c][3].
-[Sarah] Mhm.

Gotta be careful and smart
with your money.

[announcer] Are you having
a family dispute?

[theme music]