Donald Trump’s family business, the Trump Organization, was convicted Tuesday of fraud and tax evasion by a New York jury in a severe blow to the former president, who aspires to return to the White House.
After a month of hearings, the jury found the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation “guilty on all counts,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on his Twitter account.
“This is a case of greed and deceit. In Manhattan, no business is above the law,” Bragg said in a statement, noting that this is the first time a Trump-owned business has been criminally convicted. .
Although justice will limit itself to imposing a fine, which can reach 1.5 million dollars, which will not affect the billionaire’s finances too much, the sentence may deal a serious blow to his reputation in his attempt to return to the White House in 2024.
The jury recognized that the Trump Organization — currently run by two of his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump — paid black money to top executives between 2005 and 2021.
The former CFO of the company and close to Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg, had pleaded guilty on August 18 to 15 counts of defrauding and evading taxes for $1.76 million in unreported income between 2005 and 2021.
The 75-year-old former executive, who has worked for the Trumps since 1973, was one of the key witnesses in the trial, admitting that he engineered the scaffolding with the company to receive undeclared benefits such as the usufruct of an apartment in a posh residential neighborhood in Manhattan, luxury cars for him and his wife and tuition fees at a private school for his grandchildren.
Former President Donald Trump.
Under the plea bargain, Weisselberg agreed to pay nearly $2 million in fines and a five-month jail term in exchange for his testimony at the trial, which began in October. Trump, who had called the accusations a “witch hunt,” was not implicated in the case.
“For 13 years, the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation concocted a scheme that rewarded top executives with lavish perks and severance payments while intentionally hiding the benefits from tax authorities to avoid paying taxes,” Bragg said.
AFP
