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.
Jurors deliberated for just over a day before returning the guilty verdicts on a total of 17 counts, including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The company faces roughly $1.6 million in fines at sentencing.
The Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its former longtime chief financial officer, were indicted last year after a multi-year investigation into the company’s financial practices by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors alleged that two corporations that are a part of the company, Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp., paid their “already highly paid executives,” including Weisselberg, even more by “cheating on their taxes” through a series of schemes that included off-the-books perks like luxury cars and free apartments.
Aug. 18, 202201:29
Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty to 15 felony charges in August and was the prosecutors’ star witness. The companies argued that Weisselberg, who is still on the Trump Organization’s payroll, was the lone bad actor. They contended he masterminded the scheme for his own personal benefit, not the company’s.
“We are here today because of one reason and one reason only, because of the greed of Allen Weisselberg,” defense lawyer Susan Necheles said in closing arguments.
Trump, who was not charged in the case, complained about the case on social media Tuesday morning. After falsely claiming on Truth Social that murder and violent crimes are at an all time high in New York City, the former president said the district attorney’s office had been “fighting a political Witch Hunt for D.C. against ‘Trump.'”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
