Chapter 2 - THE COMPANY WITH MY NAME
North Star Veterinary Group occupied a renovated brick building near Lake Street. I had worked there for nine years, beginning as a front-desk coordinator and gradually taking over payroll, insurance contracts, vendor negotiations, and daily operations.
Gage called it answering phones at the dog place because admitting what I actually did would weaken the family story.
He was the impressive one.
I was useful.
At 7:42, I entered the hospital through the employee entrance. Dr. Helena Ruiz waited inside the conference room with two investigators from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
One introduced herself as Camille Foster.
The other, Jonah Lee, worked with a federal financial-crimes task force.
A laptop displayed a company registration.
North Star Veterinary Holdings LLC.
My name appeared as founder and sole owner.
The address belonged to a mailbox store in Saint Paul.
“This is not our company,” Helena said. “Our legal entity is North Star Veterinary Group, PLLC.”
The fake company had copied our name closely enough to appear connected.
It received deposits from pet-insurance providers, equipment vendors, and nonprofit animal-rescue grants.
Over eighteen months, nearly $1.3 million passed through its accounts.
Most funds had been transferred to businesses controlled by Gage.
“I didn’t know this existed,” I said.
Camille studied me.
“Your electronic signature appears on the formation documents.”
“I didn’t sign them.”
“Your driver’s-license image was uploaded during identity verification.”
Mom had kept a copy of my license after I helped renew her vehicle registration. Gage visited her house frequently.
Helena leaned forward.
“How did money intended for veterinary organizations reach this company?”
The investigators explained that Gage created invoices that looked like they came from our hospital. Some pet-insurance reimbursements were redirected. Several vendors paid fake consulting fees. The largest deposits came from a state grant program supporting low-income families with emergency veterinary bills.
The fake North Star company received more than $400,000 from that program.
Money intended to help sick animals and struggling families had financed Gage’s lifestyle.
My stomach turned.
“Did he steal from our actual accounts?” I asked.
“We’re still determining that,” Jonah said.
Helena opened a folder.
Our hospital had experienced unexplained payment delays for months. We believed insurance processors were slow. In reality, someone changed the routing information on selected claims.
Gage knew enough about my work to identify which payments would be difficult to trace quickly.
I had talked around him.
At family dinners, Mom asked questions about my job because she liked pretending interest. I explained billing cycles, vendor contracts, and grant applications.
Gage listened.
Then used the information to steal.
“How is Sailor’s ski camp connected?” I asked.
Camille turned the laptop.
The Aspen program payment came from the fake company.
I had paid the academy through Mom’s account, but Gage later reimbursed Mom using stolen grant funds. He then told everyone he provided the trip himself.
My contribution became part of his laundering system.
By transferring the payment responsibility directly to him, I triggered a review. The academy requested proof of income and identified the fake North Star company among his financial references.
That review reached Northline Marine Finance.
The loan company noticed the same entity.
The chain began unraveling because I stopped paying one optional expense.
Helena looked devastated.
“Our name is attached to this.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“But he used information I gave him.”
“You spoke to your family about your job. That is not a crime.”
I knew she was right.
Still, shame made logic difficult.
Camille asked for access to my email, work files, and personal financial records. I agreed immediately.
Then she showed me the business registration history.
The fake company had not originally been created by Gage.
It was formed three years earlier by someone named Patricia Wynn.
My mother’s maiden name was Wynn.
Mom had established the company.
Her signature appeared as organizer.
Gage became manager six months later.
I called her from the conference room and placed the call on speaker.
She answered on the first ring.
“Did you open North Star Veterinary Holdings?”
Mom became silent.
“Mom?”
“Gage said it was for tax planning.”
“Why did you use my name?”
“He said you would own it eventually.”
“It stole more than a million dollars.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You signed the formation documents.”
“I signed what he gave me.”
“Did you upload my license?”
Another silence.
Helena closed her eyes.
Mom began crying.
“Your brother was desperate.”
“For what?”
“His job ended.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Gage had not worked at Halberg Systems for three years.
The promotions, bonuses, and business trips were fiction.
He left—or was fired—around the same time Mom created the fake company.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“He was embarrassed.”
“So you helped him steal my identity?”
“I helped him build something.”
“You helped him impersonate my employer.”
“He promised he would repay everything.”
People often used repayment to make theft sound temporary.
“What happened at Halberg?” I asked.
Mom’s crying stopped.
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
“He said there was a misunderstanding.”
“What kind?”
“He was accused of changing clinical trial records.”
The room became completely still.
Halberg Systems manufactured cardiac-monitoring devices. Altering trial data could endanger patients.
Jonah searched a federal database.
Gage had not merely lost his job.
He had been under investigation after a medical device failed during testing. One engineer died in a car crash before giving testimony. The case was closed for insufficient evidence.
The engineer’s name was Aaron Bell.
Kobe’s father.
The man Gage mocked for not being part of our daily life had died six years earlier in what police called a weather-related accident.
May you like
I had never believed the full story of Aaron’s death.
Now I learned he had been preparing to testify against my brother.
