According to a new report from The New York Times, prosecutors in Manhattan have informed lawyers for the Trump Organization (ex-President Donald Trump’s family business) that charges against the company are under consideration. Authorities at the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance have been investigating the Trump Organization over a wide range of issues, including potential fraudulent adjustments of the company’s valuations of its assets and certain perks that were provided to the Weisselbergs, a family with lengthy ties to the Trumps.
Although the publication notes that it’s unclear whether prosecutors have settled on whether or not to issue the charges, the Times says that charges against the Trump Organization — and Allen Weisselberg, the firm’s chief financial officer — could be announced “as soon as next week,” marking an abrupt and striking development in the Manhattan criminal probe ensnaring the former president. According to the Times, the potential charges against the former president’s company are “in connection with fringe benefits the company awarded a top executive,” referring to those perks the Weisselbergs received. Besides other issues, required taxes may not have been paid on those benefits, which included sizable private school tuition payments for one of Allen’s grandchildren, the provision of apartment space, and more.
According to the Times, Trump’s “lawyers met on Thursday with senior prosecutors in the district attorney’s office in hopes of persuading them to abandon any plan to charge the company,” although there’s no apparent indication that prosecutors altered their course of action based on the meeting. The Times characterizes meetings like the Thursday gathering as “routine.” Going forward, prosecutors have reportedly been trying to get Allen Weisselberg to cooperate with their investigation into the Trump business, and criminal charges could certainly increase the pressure for him to strike a deal. Cooperation would presumably entail Weisselberg providing prosecutors with any requested information about Trump himself.
Not too long ago, New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced that she was shifting her office’s civil probe of the Trump Organization into a criminal investigation. James also said at the time that she’d be cooperating with Vance’s team. The potential fraudulent adjustments to valuations of Trump Organization assets may have been designed to help secure benefits for the company like better loan terms and tax breaks. At the Seven Springs estate, for instance, which is located in New York, the Trump Organization claimed a highly valued conservation easement on its taxes — which provided for a large tax break.
