Donald Trump’s real estate firm was found guilty on Tuesday of more than 15 years of criminal plotting to defraud tax authorities in another lawsuit that has fueled other legal problems the former US president faces in his new White House campaign. in 2024
The Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate worldwide, will be fined as a result of the conviction. The exact amount will be determined at a later date by the judge presiding over the case in New York State court.
The company pleaded not guilty. Trump himself was not charged in the case.
While the fine is not expected to be substantial for a company the size of the Trump Organization, a conviction by a jury could scare away creditors and partners, complicating the company’s ability to do business.
The case focused on allegations that the company made personal expenses such as renting a house and renting a car without reporting income to senior executives, including Allen Weisselberg, the company’s former chief financial officer, and even making bonus payments to executives as if they were independently hired.
“The benefit festival is designed to keep its executives happy and loyal,” organizer Joshua Steinglass told the judges in Friday’s closing debate.
The Trump Organization is separately battling a fraud case filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump himself is being investigated by the US Department of Justice for handling classified government documents after leaving office in January 2021 and losing the November 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Weisselberg, 75, testified as the government’s star witness as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that would allow him not to serve more than five months in prison.
The Trump Organization argued that Weisselberg executed the plan to personally benefit himself. He took paid leave from the company and stated that he received more than $1 million in salary and bonus payments this year.
“The question here is not whether the company is raising money as a spin-off,” defense attorney Susan Necheles said in her closing statement on Thursday. “(Weisselberg’s) intention was to benefit himself, not the company.”
On November 19, Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform that his family “did not derive any economic gain from the manager’s actions.”
The Republican, who announced his third campaign for the US presidency on November 15, described the investigation as a politically motivated “witch hunt.” Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor Cyrus Vance are Democrats.
Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to withholding $1.76 million in revenue from the tax authorities in August, said Trump himself signed Christmas bonus checks and personally paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in private school fees for the administrator’s grandchildren.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.