A judge in New York on Friday fined Donald Trump’s family business with a maximum penalty of $1.6 million for tax fraud.
The small sum for the billionaire real estate developer is of symbolic significance as the former president once again looks at the White House amid the legal woes.
Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp., a unit of the Trump Organization, were found guilty last month of running a years-long scheme of fraud and tax evasion through falsifying business records.
They were found guilty of a total of 17 counts after the trial. It was the first time these companies had been convicted of a crime.
Trump himself was not charged. But the verdict damaged his reputation as he sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
“While companies Imprisonment cannot be served. This conviction and consequential punishment serves as a reminder to companies and executives that you cannot defraud the tax authorities and get away with it,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. who prosecuted in this case said
The Trump Organization, now run by two of Trump’s sons, Donald Jr and Eric, has hidden severance pay paid to top executives between 2005 and 2021.
Longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison on Tuesday. and agreed to pay a $2 million fine for his role in the scam.
He confessed to plotting with the company for unannounced benefits, such as free rental apartments in upscale neighborhoods. luxury car for him and his wife and grandchildren’s tuition at expensive private schools.
The 75-year-old admitted to 15 counts of tax fraud and testifying against the Trump Organization as part of a plea bargain. He was not involved with Trump during the trial.
Trump branded the Manhattan District Attorney’s case as a It was a “witch hunt” and claimed that Weisselberg acted alone.
civil case
Friday’s ruling did not end the legal troubles of the former president, who has been repeatedly accused of violating the law.
Trump was impeached twice while serving as president in 2017-20 for abuse of power and obstruction of justice in the first case. and inciting a riot in the second case. After the attack on the US Capitol by his followers on January 6, 2021
in december A congressional investigation on Jan. 6 concluded that he should be charged with rioting and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Trump is also being investigated for illegally keeping confidential documents at his Florida home in Mar-a-Lago and obstructing an investigation in the case.
in Georgia He could be charged with interfering with the vote in the state during the November 2020 election, in which Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
And in New York, state Attorney General Letitia James has filed charges against Trump and his three children. They accuse them of fraud by overestimating assets to secure loans. Then undervalued to reduce taxes.
James is seeking $250 million in penalties, including banning Trump and his children from holding executive positions at New York-based companies.
