by - The jury found Donald Trump’s real estate company criminally responsible for its executives’ tax fraud.
- For acquittal, jurors had to believe that two of Trump’s top finance executives had testified correctly.
- Trump Organ. He faces fines of up to $1.6 million and felony status.
A jury in Manhattan found on Tuesday afternoon that two top financial executives of former President Donald Trump’s real estate empire were criminally responsible for admitted tax evasion.
The decision was swift and final, closing only 10 hours of deliberation over two days and a total of six weeks of hearing.
The decision means that Trump’s company now risks fines of up to $1.6 million when convicted on January 13.
The company also now has felony status, which means a big black eye as Trump runs his third presidential election.
“It was common sense. Both sides deserved a fair chance,” a male juror told Insider as he left the courthouse with the jurors.
Another male juror told Insider that the verdict was not based on a single witness or evidence. “He fell for a lot of things,” he said.
They declined to comment further – but when asked if they were wearing out from the process, many nodded “Yes”.
“Exactly!” Someone said he was tired.
Defense lawyers pledged to appeal the decision; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg thanked the jury and the prosecution team.
“The former president’s companies are now convicted of crimes,” Bragg told reporters. “This is important. It underlines that we have one standard of justice for all in Manhattan.”
Trump himself was not prosecuted. Instead, the two Trump subsidiaries faced a total of nine tax fraud charges.
The jury finds that both subsidiaries – the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation, both of which do business as the Trump Organization – are complicit in a ten-year tax evasion scheme, as acknowledged by former CFO Allen Weisselberg and senior payroll executive Jeffrey McConney. he did.
To convict, a jury of four women and eight men had to find that Weisselberg and McConney had executed the plan not only to save on personal taxes, but also to benefit the company.
Both Weisselberg and McConney denied having any motives on the podium beyond their own self-interest.
Without this confession, there was no direct evidence that Weisselberg and McConney were indeed seeking to benefit the company, a vital element under New York’s corporate responsibility law.
However, there was plenty of circumstantial evidence that the two moneymen had more in mind than just lining their own pockets.
Dozens of test shows have shown Trump or his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. signing up on some of the luxury condos, free Mercedes cars, expensive private school tuition payments, and other tax-free “perks” included in the program.
These bonuses were carefully entered in the internal records but excluded from the company’s W-2 tax forms.
The conviction shows that the jury believed Weisselberg lied on the bench when he testified that he had no intention of helping anyone but himself in the plot.
“This was a case about greed and cheating. No company in Manhattan is above the law,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“For 13 years, the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation have gotten away with a scheme that has given top executives generous bonuses and compensation and deliberately concealed the benefits of the tax authorities to avoid paying taxes. Today’s verdict holds these Trump companies accountable. pleading guilty, testifying in court Long-running criminal plots in addition to Finance Director Allen Weisselberg, who gave the money and will now be sentenced to prison.”
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