No idea, I'm not a lawyer. But in the original post he mentioned that he "cut a deal" with the restaurant, which to me suggests that he got the $5k back, possibly in cash, from the restaurant. If he then pockets to tax he saved, that smells like tax evasion.
He then tweaked his story to say that this cost him $5k. Why did he say he was cutting a deal then?
He then tweaked his story to say that this cost him $5k. Why did he say he was cutting a deal then?