New York prosecutors revealed on Thursday the first charges in their grand jury probing into the Trump Organization. They charged the former president's company and its chief financial officer (CFO) Allen Weisselberg with tax-related crimes. Prosecutors claim a scheme that ran for 15 years in which the Trump Organization compensated Weisselberg in a way that enabled the executive and the company to avoid paying taxes.
The Trump Organization is a real estate business owned by former President Donald Trump, which propelled him into the public eye and then towards presidency. The organization was arraigned in a sweeping tax evasion indictment by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
$1.7 Million Off-the-Books Compensation
The executive reportedly obtained over $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation. This involves car payments, apartment rent, and school tuition. The former president was not indicted with any fault. However, prosecutors noted that he signed a number of checks at the center of the case, reported AP.
The organization is also a group of hundreds of businesses including golf courses, hotels, estates, and residential towers owned by the former president in some capacity. The ongoing probing centers on the financial negotiations of Trump's cornerstone business operation, reported CNET.
Weisselberg was named as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the scheme. The Trump Organization responded on Thursday in a statement. They indicated that Weisselberg was being used as a pawn in a scorched-earth effort to harm Trump, reported PBS.
Weisselberg and the organization pleaded not guilty. In a statement, Weisselberg's attorneys stated that their client would combat the charges.
The defendants argue that the arraignments are politically motivated. The claims stem from a years-long probing by the Manhattan DA's office that has involved prosecutors acquiring Trump's tax returns.
According to one prosecutor, the 15-year scheme was arranged by the most senior executives at the Trump Organization. It is the first criminal case to come out of NY authorities' probing into the former president's business negotiations for two years.
The charges claim that the former president's business helped at least one executive in particular to evade taxes by hiding compensation and employment benefits, including rent for luxury housing, from federal and state tax offices.
The CFO allegedly concealed that he was an NYC resident. He reportedly avoided paying approximately $106,586 in state taxes, $556,385 in federal taxes, and $238,159 in city taxes.
The umbrella business enterprise, which is the Trump Organization, was purported for the former president's investments and many of his marketing and television negotiations. Eric and Donald Jr., Trump's eldest sons, were delegated to man the company's daily operations after Trump became president.
According to the indictment, the company avoided reporting the income to tax authorities and withholding taxes from it. The CFO allegedly hid the income from his tax preparer and did not report it on his tax returns.
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