The criminal tax-fraud trial for the Trump Organization commences on Monday, and the verdict may deliver a serious blow to the family business and the political career of former United States President Donald Trump.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has accused two Trump Organization businesses of a 15-year tax fraud conspiracy, according to Time.
Prosecutors say the method permitted CEOs to underreport income by receiving huge chunks of their salary in concealment.
In its not-guilty plea, the Trump Organization has denied the allegations. The corporations might be hit with significant fines if proven guilty.
Allen Weisselberg, 75, the longstanding CFO of the Trump Organization, has also been accused by prosecutors of being behind the plan.
Weisselberg admitted guilt on all 15 counts of felonies on August 18. These crimes included colluding with the Trump Organization, Bloomberg reported. Depending on his evidence in the New York City trial that starts on Monday, Weisselberg was given a sentence of five months behind bars and five years probation.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has not filed any criminal charges against Donald Trump or any of his children. This trial, however, has the potential to shed new light on the internal workings of the firm that occupied much of Trump's life before he became president.
Weisselberg's Involvement
The Washington Post reported that Weisselberg has been portrayed by prosecutors as the case's central figure because of his alleged role as the core of a 15-year tax dodging conspiracy including untaxed goodies such as fancy automobiles and pricey houses for business officials. In 1973, Weisselberg started working for the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg started as an accountant and comptroller before working his way up to CFO. A lawsuit was filed on July 1, 2021, naming Weisselberg and other executives who "earned considerable percentages of their income through roundabout and "disguised means."
Trump Organization attorneys have argued this action is politically motivated "selective prosecution," but the judge supervising the case has dismissed such claims. Both the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Cyrus Vance, who launched the probe, are Democrats.
The Trump Organization's legal team also claims that the government provided no proof of payroll tax evasion to the grand jury that issued the indictment. A number of the firm's officials reportedly neglected to record fringe benefits on their individual tax filings, which is why prosecutors are pursuing punishment for the firm.
Expert Sees Strong Case Against Trump's Company
According to Bridget Crawford, a law professor at Pace University in New York who specializes in income tax and companies, the fact that the Trump Organization was making off-the-books payments for so many years may assist prosecutors to establish their case to the jury that they aimed to break the law, per Reuters.
Crawford noted that it could be a mistake not to file a report at least once, adding that "failure to report over some time is fraud" because ignoring tax responsibilities deliberately. All seasoned and smart individuals are aware of their tax responsibilities, thus ignoring them deliberately constitutes fraud against the government, the expert added.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil fraud lawsuit on September 21 against the Trump Organization, Trump, and three of his adult children, alleging that they had inflated the value of their assets and their father's net worth to obtain more favorable terms from financial institutions and insurance providers. This case is unrelated to the criminal investigation.
According to Donald Trump, both the civil lawsuit launched by James and the criminal charges sought by Bragg are motivated by politics.
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