A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump’s real estate and development business, Trump Organization, guilty of all 17 counts of tax fraud and related financial crimes the state Attorney General had brought against the company.
The verdicts were read just one day after the jury deliberated in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. The jury said that the Trump Organization had a business practice of paying people under the table, thus avoiding taxes, by giving them luxury incentives such as apartments, cars, and private school tuition for their children.
Trump Organization was founded in 1927 by Donald Trump’s grandmother, Elizabeth Christ Trump, and his father, Fred Trump. It was originally known as E. Trump & Sons. Today it is a group of close to 500 businesses of which Donald J. Trump is either the sole owner or principal of companies that have multiple investments in hotels, golf resorts, and other real estate across the world. The company’s website gives visitors a peek into the luxury world of the Trump Organization.
Attorney General Letitia James of New York wrote, “Today’s guilty verdict against the Trump Organization shows that we will hold individuals and organizations accountable when they violate our laws to line their pockets. I commend @ManhattanDA for this big victory, and I am proud of the role that my office played in securing it.” James filed the lawsuit against the company in September.
In exchange for his testimony, former chief financial officer for the organization Allen Weisselberg made a deal that means he will serve only about five months in jail. He did not implicate Donald Trump or Trump’s adult children in his testimony, although prosecutors made the argument that Trump knew what was going on in the tax fraud scheme.
Weisselberg said the whole scheme was his fault and was due to his own greed. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking in $1.7 million in benefits that he did not report to state and federal taxing authorities.
The company could be liable for a $1.6 million fine and will be sentenced in January.
