Donald Trump’s company fined R$ 8 million for tax fraud

The Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million (approximately R$ 8 million) – the maximum possible penalty – by a judge in New York on Friday (13) for running a tax fraud scheme over a period of time. decade, a symbolic moment as it is the only trial for a criminal conviction that has come close to former President Donald Trump.

Two Trump entities, “The Trump Corp.” and Trump Payroll Corp., were convicted last month of 17 crimes, including tax fraud and falsifying business records.

Under New York law, the most companies can be fined is about $1.6 million, a penalty the Trump Organization can easily pay.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Judge Juan Merchan to make Trump Org. paying the maximum fine, although he admitted it will have a “minimal impact” on a multibillion-dollar company.

“We all know these corporations can’t go to prison like Allen Weisselberg,” Steinglass said on Friday, referring to the longtime CFO of the Trump Organization, sentenced to five months in prison earlier this week as part of a agreement he obtained with prosecutors. “The only way to effectively prevent such conduct is to make it as costly as possible.”

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the fine against Trump Org. is important, but he also wants lawmakers to increase fines for companies that break the law.

“This conviction was significant. It is a first for criminal conviction of former President Trump’s companies and, in fact, I would go so far as to say a first for any former President certainly in my lifetime,” Bragg said.

But, added Bragg, the fine is not a sufficient penalty.

“I want to be very clear – we don’t think this is enough. Our laws in this state need to change to catch this kind of systemic, blatant, decade-plus fraud,” Bragg said.

Trump Organization entities have 14 days to pay the fine.

The real estate business does not run the risk of being dismantled because there is no mechanism provided for by law to dissolve the company. No individual will go to jail based on the jury’s verdict.

However, a criminal conviction could affect the Trump Organization’s reputation and ability to do business or obtain loans or contracts.

Trump and his family were not charged in this case, but the former president was mentioned repeatedly during the trial by prosecutors about his connection to untaxed benefits granted to certain executives, including company-financed apartments, car rentals and personal expenses. . One prosecutor said Trump had “explicitly sanctioned” the tax fraud.

One of the jurors told CNN that the jury saw a “culture of fraud” in the Trump Organization, but referred to Trump as an undefined “Bob Smith” at times when talking about the company owner’s knowledge of crimes in relation to the charges.

Last year, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 counts related to the tax fraud scheme and agreed to testify honestly against the company at trial.

He remained on paid leave with the Trump Organization, where he was compensated just over $1 million a year, until Tuesday, when he was sentenced.

Weisselberg received a severance package that one person familiar with the deal called “generous”.

Merchan, who convicted Weisselberg, said at the time that, had it not been for the settlement, he would have given Weisselberg more time in prison after hearing the evidence at trial.

A spokesman for the Trump Organization said Weisselberg “is a victim”, as are the company and the former president.

“New York has become the crime and murder capital of the world, but these politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to catch President Trump and continue the never-ending witch hunt that began the day he announced his presidency,” said the spokesman. “We have done nothing wrong and we will appeal this verdict.”

Not over yet

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office continues to investigate the company’s business practices.

Prosecutors are conducting a comprehensive investigation, and in recent months their focus has returned to the company’s involvement in clandestine payments made to prevent adult film star Stormy Daniels from going public with an affair with Trump shortly before the 2016 election, people familiar with said the subject. Trump denied the affair.

Prosecutors are also looking into potential insurance fraud after new material surfaced in the New York attorney general’s investigation into the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements, the people said.

The biggest threat currently facing the company may be the $250 million civil suit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, which alleged that Trump, his three oldest children, Weisselberg and others defrauded creditors, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of several Trump Org. properties for over a decade.

In addition to money, James, a Democrat, is seeking to permanently bar Trump and the sons named in the suit from serving as directors of a company registered in New York state. It is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate, which, if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state.

The judge overseeing the process has placed an independent monitor to review the Trump Organization’s financial statements and business decisions.

He recently denied motions to dismiss the case and said he has considered sanctioning Trump’s lawyers. The trial is scheduled for October.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and said the lawsuit is politically motivated.