A criminal court jury in New York on Tuesday found the Trump Organization guilty of all charges in a sweeping, 15-year tax fraud scheme that prosecutors said was orchestrated by top executives at the company.
via: ABC News
The jury found the two entities of the Trump Organization guilty as charged on all counts, including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
The two entities — the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation — were accused of paying the personal expenses of some executives without reporting them as income, and for compensating them as independent contractors instead of full-time employees. Each entity was charged with scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
The felony convictions carry fines totaling up to $1.7 million. But collateral consequences of a conviction may be more significant to Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House. Banks could call in loans and business partners could cancel contracts if their internal policies prevent them from doing business with felons.
The trial also revealed potentially embarrassing details about Trump, including that he reported nearly $1 billion in operating losses over a two-year period in 2009 and 2010, as well as losses each year for the decade between 2009 and 2018 — some of the same years Trump was touting his business acumen on reality television and as he was campaigning for president.
Prosecutors believed the Trump Organization was culpable because the conduct of CFO Allen Weisselberg benefitted the company and because his position as CFO meant he was entrusted to act on the company’s behalf.
Weisselberg, who testified as part of a plea deal, pleaded guilty in August to charges that he skirted taxes on nearly $2 million in company-provided perks that included the rent on his Manhattan apartment, the leases on cars for himself and his wife and tuition for his grandchildren.
Following the verdict, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told ABC News in a statement, “Mr. Weisselberg testified under oath that he ‘betrayed’ the trust the company had placed in him and that he, at all times, acted ‘solely’ for his ‘own personal gain’ and out of his ‘own personal greed’. The notion that a company could be held responsible for an employee’s actions, to benefit themselves, on their own personal tax returns is simply preposterous.”
BREAKING: Trump Org. found guilty on all counts in a 15-year tax fraud scheme that prosecutors said was orchestrated by top executives at the company. https://t.co/MPjgQRmzjX pic.twitter.com/356LrhuK6u
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 6, 2022
