The Detective’s DeskDina Vale
Seller
What happened from your point of view?
Nico’s winning bid was independent demand.
What should I check to test that account?
I advanced him money for unrelated rent.
HARD · CASE FILE
The Bid Paid with Someone Else’s Money
Hard · A community art auction
A high bidder seems to prove a painting’s value. Follow the bidder’s deposit, refund promise and relationship to the seller before accepting that conclusion.
Read the case file below, or open the interactive desk to examine records, keep notes and submit your reasoning. These are the case materials, without the solution.
The scene
The supplied auction rule prohibits seller-funded sham bids. A real independent buyer stops bidding below the final price.
People and accounts
Omar Bell
Independent buyer
What happened from your point of view?
I stopped at 400; the final bid was 900.
What should I check to test that account?
I never agreed to any side payment.
Esme Reed
Auction clerk
What happened from your point of view?
I collected the deposit from Nico’s account.
What should I check to test that account?
My receipt does not identify where his balance came from.
Lina Cole
Treasurer
What happened from your point of view?
I kept the settlement statements and full messages.
What should I check to test that account?
The painting never left Dina’s locked store after settlement.
Nico Hart
Winning bidder
What happened from your point of view?
I risked my own money.
What should I check to test that account?
Dina promised to reimburse anything above the reserve.
Case records
Read each record on its own terms. A claim made by a person is different from a fact established by an independent record.
Case record · Auction desk
Published auction rule
A bidder funded and indemnified by the seller is not an independent bid under this event’s rule. The rule is supplied here.
Case record · Seller’s store
Store custody record
The painting remains with Dina under Nico’s signed instruction; no independent buyer takes possession.
Case record · Auction desk
Bid and settlement record
Omar stops at 400. Nico wins at 900, then receives the full guaranteed reimbursement from Dina.
Case record · Accounts desk
Independent buyer’s complete exchange
Omar has no funding or reimbursement agreement. His only offer is his stopped 400 bid.
Case record · Accounts desk
Predated guarantee
Dina promises to repay Nico’s whole purchase and fee if he pushes the lot to 900. Nico replies agreeing to bid under that guarantee.
Case record · Accounts desk
Deposit source statement
Dina transfers the exact deposit to Nico immediately before his deposit payment. The reference names the painting lot, not rent.
Case record · Auction desk
Clerk’s genuine receipt
Nico pays the recorded deposit from his account. The receipt certifies receipt of funds, not their ultimate source or his risk.
Case record · Seller’s store
Seller’s public valuation claim
After reimbursement Dina publishes “independent buyer risked 900”, omitting her guarantee and repayment.
Questions to resolve
Who finances and guarantees the sham bid?
Who knowingly bids without the claimed independent risk?
What does the deposit receipt prove?
Which independent bid is established?
Use the interactive case desk to select your finding and cite the records that support it. The answer is checked there, and your progress stays in your browser.
Build your finding
Compare the records with each account. Work out what the evidence establishes, then separate that finding from anything it does not prove.