The Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg on Thursday pleaded not guilty to the tax fraud and other charges.
The story: Weisselberg appeared in a lower Manhattan courtroom on Thursday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to all counts. Attorneys for the Trump Organization and the Trump Payroll Corp. entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the companies as well.
The charges: The Trump Organization and Weisselberg are accused of falsifying business records, tax fraud, a scheme to defraud, and conspiracy.
Weisselberg was individually charged with grand larceny, conspiracy, and falsifying business records, according to the criminal indictment which was unsealed later on Thursday. If convicted, he is facing a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors said that the Trump Organization and Weisselberg were engaged in a scheme to compensate top executives at the company “off the books” that lasted for 15 years. They specifically alleged that Weisselberg avoided paying taxes on $1.7 million of his income.
“The scheme was intended to allow certain employees to substantially understate their compensation from the Trump Organization, so that they could and did pay federal, state and local taxes in amounts that were significantly less than the amounts that should have been paid,” according to the indictment.
“The beneficiaries of the scheme received substantial portions of their income through indirect and disguised means, with compensation that was unreported or misreported by the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp,” the indictment said.
“Contrary to today’s assertion by the company’s former CEO, this is not a ‘standard practice in the business community’ nor was it the act of a rogue or isolated employee. Instead, it was orchestrated by the most senior executives, who were financially benefiting themselves and the company by getting secret pay raises at the expense of state and federal taxpayers.,” assistant district attorney Carey Dunne said in court.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement in response to the indictment, calling it an “important marker in the ongoing criminal investigation.”
“This investigation will continue, and we will follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead,” James said.
Former President Donald Trump criticized the charges as partisan.
“The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues,” he said. “It is dividing our Country like never before!”
“Make no mistake — this is not about the law; this is all about politics,” a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said in a statement.
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