Trump Organization Sentenced To Maximum Penalty In Tax Fraud Case

Former President Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump's family business has been ordered to pay a $1.6M penalty for its tax evasion schemes.

The Trump Organization must pay the maximum allowable fine after receiving a guilty verdict on 17 counts of criminal tax fraud last month, New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan ruled Friday, The New York Times reports.

The penalty concludes one of several high-profile, long-running legal battles that revealed the inner workings of the former president’s family business. Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg testified at the trial in November, revealing an off-the-books compensation scheme for executives in a tax evasion scheme that Weisselberg said Trump was aware of. Practices only ceased once Trump took office, Weisselberg told the jury.

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to 15 criminal counts and testified as part of a plea deal, was sentenced to five months in jail for his role in the tax dodging scheme earlier this week. He will serve his sentence in an infirmary unit at the Rikers Island jail complex.

The Trump Organization's lawyers asked for a smaller fine and attempted to pin the blame on Weisselberg, the Times reported. Joshua Steinglass, one of the Manhattan District Attorney prosecutors on the case, said the fine will have minimal impact on The Trump Organization's finances.

“This is a farce,” University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law associate professor Bill Black, who specialized in white-collar crime, told Reuters. “No one will stop committing these kinds of crimes because of this sentence.”

While Donald Trump hasn't been charged with a crime, he remains the target of a civil fraud lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, which is due to go to trial in October.

The suit, which James launched in late September after a lengthy investigation, seeks to ban Trump and his eldest children from working in New York real estate and alleges that The Trump Organization manipulated property values to obtain favorable loan terms and low tax payments.

A judge appointed an independent monitor to stop The Trump Organization from shielding assets after the NY AG’s Office pointed to actions that it said looked like attempts to “reorganize” the Trump family business.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Wall Street Impatient For Big Tech Returns On Data Center Spending

As AI Adoption Ramps Up, Half A Million Property Managers Are In The Crosshairs

Treasuries Hover Around 4.7% As Wall Street Questions If Warsh Is A 'Dove In Hawk's Clothing'

Federal Government To Sell Nearly 31K SF In Five Points: The Denver Deal Sheet

Avison Young Had Assets Frozen By Bank Over Unpaid Taxes

Artificial Intelligence Companies Reshaping Dublin Office Demand As OpenAI Confirms HQ

Mars Factory Overhaul Stalls As Candymaker's Chicago Expansion Accelerates

Camden Property Trust Sells West Coast Portfolio, Clears $1.5B Target

Churchill Downs Plans To Sell 9 Casinos, Focus On Horse Racing

Bringing Stability And Savings To CRE Insurance Through Working Layer

More Hotel Owners In Need Of Cash Are Getting It From The Big Brands

Former Arms Dealer Targeting Heartland Apartment Takeover Files For Bankruptcy