Trump Organization Found Guilty On All Counts At Criminal Tax Fraud Trial
Former President Donald Trump's family business was found guilty on all 17 counts at its criminal tax fraud in New York court Tuesday.
Two Trump business entities were charged with criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records and conspiracy, and the verdict carries a possible penalty of up to $1.6M in fines, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The fraud charges stemmed from an illegal compensation scheme for executives, including paying for their personal expenses, apartment and car leases, and private school tuition for family members, none of which was taxed as income.
The scheme only stopped once the company's chief executive became president of the United States, former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg testified at the trial, adding that the former president was aware of the scheme.
Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to 15 criminal counts and will serve a five-month jail sentence in exchange for testifying under oath against The Trump Organization.
Donald Trump hasn't been charged with a crime, although he is the subject of a civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking to ban Trump and his eldest children from working in New York real estate over allegedly manipulating property values to score favorable terms on loans and tax payments.
That suit, for which a judge has appointed an independent monitor to oversee The Trump Organization and ensure it isn't shielding assets, is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 2, 2023, per court records.
CORRECTION, DEC. 6, 7 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misstated the number of counts on which The Trump Organization was convicted. This story has been updated.
