New York Judge Juan Merchan imposed a fine on Friday against two Trump family business entities totaling a little over $1.6 million after a jury in New York City found the Trump company, as represented by those two entities, guilty on all charges in a tax fraud case.
The case, which was largely although not entirely the work of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, hinged on the circumstances of top executives at the Trump business receiving high-dollar benefits without those benefiting or the company itself paying all required taxes. Allen Weisselberg, a former longtime executive who helped further the scheme but reportedly is no longer formally employed at the company, was required to pay nearly $2 million before his recent sentencing. Weisselberg got five months after pleading guilty to a series of felony charges covering the same scheme, although he could end up serving less time in custody if he receives potential time off for good behavior.
What Weisselberg received in the original tax plot included apartment space in Manhattan and Mercedes-Benz lease payments. Merchan, who also handled Weisselberg’s sentencing, also noted how he cut a fake company check for his wife purportedly showing income so she could receive Social Security benefits. The now former company executive testified at the company trial.
Merchan’s decisions for handling the penalties on the company repeatedly went against what the Trump team sought, which included a lower overall cost, even though the fine isn’t likely to somehow cripple the company’s operations. According to the Associated Press, the Trump company asked for a one-month window in which to pay the fine, but the judge decided on just two weeks instead. Merchan previously showed an inclination towards taking these matters extremely seriously, reportedly indicating he would have leaned towards imposing a sentence for Weisselberg longer than five months in response to evidence outlined at the company’s criminal trial if not for prior agreements.
“The sentencing today, along with the sentencing earlier this week, closes this important chapter of our ongoing investigation into the former president and his businesses,” Bragg told journalists Friday. “We now move on to the next chapter.” The persistence of the underlying probe surely won’t be welcome news to Trump. Other subjects previously reported to be of interest to prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office include what have been described as hush money payments provided before the 2016 election to women with whom Trump had affairs.
The Trump Organization, Trump himself, and Weisselberg — who is a defendant — are also still facing a large lawsuit from New York state Attorney General Letitia James over other allegedly fraudulent business practices involving deceptive claims of value for dozens of assets. A different New York judge recently rejected several motions to dismiss that case, specifically rejecting — again — the notion James was working out of personal and what could be deemed political animosity towards Trump.
