WASHINGTON — The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is expected to charge the Trump Organization with tax-related crimes on Thursday, two representatives of the company told NBC News.
One person said that the charges are expected to be filed around 2 p.m. ET. As of Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials have not confirmed the timing of the charges.
It is not clear whether the company’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, will also be charged Thursday.
NBC News reported last week that District Attorney Cy Vance’s office was expected to charge the Trump Organization as early as this week.
June 30, 202103:35
The charges come amid an investigation Vance has been conducting into a variety of allegations of financial improprieties against former President Donald Trump’s company. Vance’s office had been looking into criminal conduct at the Trump Organization, court documents previously showed, such as falsifying business records, insurance fraud and tax fraud.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the charges would be filed Thursday, including against Weisselberg.
NBC News reported in March that Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg, had spoken multiple times with investigators and that Vance was investigating whether Trump employees, including the Weisselbergs, were able to avoid paying taxes in exchange for fringe benefits, such as an apartment.
The investigation appeared to speed up once Vance’s office won a lengthy battle in February to obtain Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns and underlying financial documents.
Last week, an attorney for the Trumps, Ron Fischetti, called the impending charges “completely outrageous” and said they were being pursued because Weisselberg didn’t cooperate with investigators.
“They could not get him to cooperate because he would not say that Donald Trump had knowledge or any information that he may have been not deducting properly the use of cars or an apartment,” he said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
