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Judge orders Trump's companies to pay $1,6 million in tax fraud fines

'14.01.2023'

Olga Derkach

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Two companies of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, are to pay $1,6 million following their convictions on tax fraud charges. Writes about it USA Today.

The Trump Corp., found guilty of nine felonies, was sentenced to a maximum fine of $810. Trump Payroll Corp. was also found guilty, but of eight felony counts, and was given a maximum fine of $000.

The verdict comes days after former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison for similar tax fraud charges. The sentence was well below the maximum 15-year prison term he faced because Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all charges and then testified against the Trump firms in an agreement with prosecutors.

Trump's companies said in a statement they did nothing wrong and are appealing the verdict.

"New York has become the crime and murder capital of the world, yet these politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to get Trump and continue the never-ending witch hunt that began the day he announced his presidency," the statement said. .

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the maximum fines were imposed on Weisselberg and two companies that had engaged in and profited from large-scale fraud for more than a decade.

On the subject: Trump's company found guilty of tax fraud

“While corporations cannot serve jail time, this sentence serves as a reminder to corporations and executives that you cannot cheat the tax authorities and get away with it,” Bragg said in a statement. – Today's verdict for The Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp. represents an important chapter in our ongoing investigation into the president and his business."

The fines also affected companies that are divisions operating under the auspices of the Trump Organization.

Trump was not charged in the case and did not appear in the courtroom during the trial. However, the results of the trial cast a shadow over his recently announced presidential campaign.

It is unclear whether the convictions and fines will have a significant impact on Trump's business. But the result is "terrible" symbolically, said following the sentencing, former U.S. Attorney Andrew Weissmann, who worked on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The case was based on an indictment that accused Trump firms of handing out company-paid perks, including expensive Manhattan apartments, luxury cars, even cash to Weisselberg and other high-ranking Trump company officials.

Forensic evidence showed that executives repeatedly failed to declare this on their tax returns. This evidence suggested that the practice of providing these perks satisfied executives by allowing Trump's companies to avoid pay increases and benefit from lower taxes.

Defense lawyers argued that Weisselberg masterminded the scheme and profited from it by keeping Trump and others in the dark.

Weisselberg's testimony seemed to help both the defense and prosecutors. He explained that he used the scheme mainly to reduce his tax burden, but also acknowledged that such maneuvers led to lower salaries for executives and tax benefits for companies.

This was enough for the jury to conclude that the scheme met the requirements of New York criminal law for convicting corporations of a crime. The law requires proof that the crime was committed by "a high-ranking managerial agent acting in the capacity of his official duties and on behalf of a corporation."

Acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Mercan, who presided over the trial, instructed the jury that if the agent's actions "were taken solely for personal gain, they were not in the best interest of the corporation."

The judge told the jury, among other things, that "it is not necessary that a criminal act actually benefit the corporations."

Separately, prosecutors said the evidence supports what Trump knew or should have known about the scheme. They presented evidence that showed that Trump approved one of the decisions to cut wages by the same amount as the cost of the benefits granted. Other forensic evidence showed that this tactic contributed to tax fraud.

Prosecutors went even further during the closing debate, arguing on evidence that Trump "clearly sanctioned tax fraud" through the corporate culture of his companies.

A jury of eight women and four men returned guilty verdicts on all charges after less than two full days of deliberation.

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