Donald TrumpThe company was convicted today of tax fraud in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney in New York City. The guilty verdict came on the second day of deliberations following a lawsuit accusing the Trump Organization of being complicit in a plan by top executives to avoid paying personal income taxes on employment benefits such as rent-free apartments and luxury cars.
The conviction is a confirmation for New York prosecutors, who have spent three years investigating the former president and his companies, but the sentences are not expected to be severe enough to jeopardize the company’s future.
Fines in this case could be as much as $1.6 million (approximately £1.3 million), which is a relatively small amount for a company of this size. However, the conviction may complicate some of his future deals.
Trumpwho recently announced his re-run for president has said the case against his company was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him by vengeful Democrats.
He did not stand trial, but prosecutors claimed he “knew exactly what was going on” with the plan, though he and the company’s lawyers have denied that.
The case against the company was based largely on testimony from former Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who previously pleaded guilty to charges that he manipulated the company’s books and its own compensation package to illegally lower its taxes.
Weisselberg testified in exchange for a promised five-month prison sentence.
To convict the Trump Organization, prosecutors had to convince jurors that Weisselberg or his subordinate, Senior Vice President and Controller Jeffrey McConney, were “senior executive” agents acting on behalf of the company and that the company also benefited from his scheme.
Trump Organization attorneys repeated the mantra “Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg” throughout the month-long trial.
They said the director had gone rogue and betrayed the company’s trust and said no one in the Trump family or company was to blame.
Weisselberg testified as a prosecution witness, but he also followed up with Trump Organization lawyers’ claims by taking responsibility and saying that no one in the Trump family knew what he was doing.
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Today’s verdict does not stop Trumpbattle with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who took office in January.
Mr. Bragg has vowed that a related investigation into Trump that began under his predecessor, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., is “active and ongoing.”
Investigators are investigating whether Trump misled banks and others about the value of his real estate holdings, golf courses and other assets. These are allegations that are also at the center of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ ongoing lawsuit against the former president and his company.
The district attorney’s office also investigated whether state laws were violated when Trump allies made payments to two women who claimed to have had sexual affairs with the Republican years ago.
Near the end of his term last year, Mr. Vance instructed his deputies to present evidence to a grand jury for a possible indictment against Trump.
But Mr. Bragg had that grand jury dissolved so he could revisit the case.
Trump may have breathed a sigh of relief when that happened, but Bragg recently confirmed that a new chief prosecutor has been appointed to handle the extensive investigation. This is a clear signal that the investigation is still in full swing.