Trump Organization found guilty of tax crimes after New York trial
Donald Trump’s family real estate company – The Trump Organization – has been found guilty of tax crimes, on all counts, after two days of jury deliberations.
The business may have the Trump family name, but neither the former president nor any of his family members were in the New York court for the trial.
But Donald Trump has vowed to appeal the verdict, labelling the case as a “witch hunt” and saying he was “disappointed.”
The Trump Organization guilty
The company has been convicted of enriching its top executives with off-the-books benefits for more than a decade.
Untaxed perks included luxury cars and private school fees, which made up for lower salaries and therefore reduced the amount of tax the business was required to pay.
The business can expect to face a fine of around $1.6m and could face difficulty in security loans and financing in the future.
Donald Trump has long criticised the trial and has accused it of being politically motivated. He also criticised the company’s long-serving former chief financial executive Allen Weisselberg after he pleaded guilty in August, and then testified against the business.
In a recent statement, he asked why the business should be prosecuted for Mr Weisselberg’s “personal conduct” – accusing him of “committing tax fraud on his personal tax returns.”
“There was RELIANCE by us on a then highly respected and expensive accounting firm, and law firm, to do this work,” Mr Trump said in the statement issued by his office.
“This case is unprecedented and… is a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country,” he said, adding that New York City was now a “hard place to be a Trump”.
