Randy and Brian met through a mutual friend. Randy informs Brian that he is an investor and helps turn around failing discount stores. Randy tells Brian that he has located a discount store that has real potential to become an extremely profitable store due to its location. However, Randy is short $50,000 to purchase the store. Due to their mutual friend and Randy's presentation, Brian lends Randy $50,000 to purchase the business. The two enter in to a legal agreement by signing a note with 10% interest and payment terms.

However, Brian discovers that Randy never purchased the discount store and in fact, never had any intentions to do so. Brian sues Randy in hopes of recovering the money that was obtained from him under false pretenses. Brian is unable to recover any of the monies. How should Brian treat this loss?

Consider locating tax cases, specifically tax court cases to support your conclusion, along with other authoritative sources.