The trial of Donald Trump’s family business for tax fraud begins in New York

The Trump Organization, the family company of donald trumpsat this Monday on the bench of the state justice of New York for fraud and tax evasion, in a criminal proceeding in which, however, the former president is not implicated in a personal capacity.

In his Truth Social network, Donald Trump criticized his political adversaries, the Democrats of President Joe Biden, for continuing with “the witch hunt” two weeks before the November 8 midterm elections.

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The criminal trial, began this Monday with the selection of the jury and which is scheduled to last two weeks, is the result of an investigation by the New York prosecutor’s office into alleged irregularities in the company’s accounts since 2005, as well as its executives who received salary compensation that they hid from the treasury.

Former CFO of the Trump Organization and close to Donald Trump, Allen Weisselbergpleaded guilty on August 18 to 15 counts of defrauding and evading taxes on $1.76 million in unreported income between 2005 and 2021.

The 75-year-old former executive who worked for the Trumps since 1973, will be one of the key witnesses in the trial of the company currently run by two of the former president’s sons -Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump- which has real estate businesses, hotels and golf courses around the world, as well as its two subsidiaries Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll.

Weisselbergwho had so far refused to testify against donald trumplinked directly to the Trump Organization with “a wide range of criminal activities.”

The Trump Tower in New York. According to news reports, New York district attorneys will file an indictment this Thursday against the Trump Organization for allegedly failing to pay taxes on corporate profits. (EFE / EPA / JUSTIN LANE).

Covert Income

According to the indictment filed on July 1, 2021, he was one of the executives who “received substantial portions of his income through indirect and covert means.”

“After reviewing millions of pages of documents from several years, charges were filed against a Trump executive who was ‘tortured’ and threatened for years, for not paying taxes for the use of company cars, the use of a the company and the education of their grandchildren”roared the tycoon on his social network.

After the agreement reached with the prosecution, the former executive, who before being financial director had been an accountant and controller of the company, will pay 2 million dollars in compensation and faces five months in prison.

Under his supervision, the family company Trumpwho has pleaded not guilty, is accused of having kept two parallel accounts to hide the benefits that he and other executives received as a salary supplement.

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference on the financial fraud case of former US President Donald Trump and his family. (YUKI IWAMURA / AFP).

If you are proven guilty, the company could be ordered to pay up to 1.7 million dollars in fines.

Personally Donald Trump is not charged in this casebut she is the subject, along with three of her older children, of another civil investigation launched by the New York prosecutor, Democrat Leticia James, who accuses them of lying to the Treasury, to lenders and insurers in a scheme that altered the value of their properties to enrich themselves.

James’ office claims $250 million in fines from former presidentthat his family be barred from conducting business in the state and his children, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, be prevented from purchasing real estate in the state for a period of five years.

The former president, who although he has not officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections does not hide his ambitions, considers that the New York prosecutor’s investigations are a “witch hunt” with political motivations.

This trial is one of the many criminal and civil lawsuits facing Trump, who has been subpoenaed to testify by the Congressional commission investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.

In another case, he faces accusations from the Department of Justice for possible obstruction of justice and concealment of confidential documents stolen from the White House.

Source: Elcomercio