DThe Trump Organization, a group of companies owned by former US President Donald Trump, has been convicted of tax fraud. The company designed a reward system with the intention of tax evasion. Company executives had been paid housing, car leases and cash that did not show up in the accounts.
A New York jury found Trump Organization companies guilty of all counts of the charges. This includes tax fraud and the falsification of accounting records. Donald Trump himself was not charged.
Trump sees himself as a victim of justice
However, prosecutors argued that Trump approved the granting of untaxed benefits and himself signed checks for tuition for the children of the company’s longtime chief financial officer. According to his lawyer, Trump had relied on an accountant who never told him that issuing untaxed benefits to employees was illegal.
Trump had made it clear on social media that he saw himself as a victim of justice. Such a case was never brought before a court and convicted. The process began in October. Longtime accountant and chief financial officer Allan Weisselberg had pleaded guilty to several counts, but apparently did not charge his boss Trump.
Weisselberg has negotiated a settlement with the prosecutors. There is a risk of a few months in prison. The convicted companies face fines that have yet to be determined.
