The Trump Organization — well, two specific business entities operating as part of the Trump family enterprise — has paid the $1.6 million fine imposed after a jury conviction in New York on a series of tax fraud charges.
The fine came after the case from the Manhattan district attorney’s office that dealt with the high-dollar benefits provided to executives at the Trump Organization without those benefiting or the company itself paying required taxes. So far, the only individual also charged in connection to that scheme is now former Trump exec Allen Weisselberg, who eventually pleaded guilty after failing to secure the dismissal of key allegations against him ahead of trial. Weisselberg is now serving a months-long jail sentence in New York after testifying at the Trump company trial and paying the roughly $2 million he owed in association with his case, which covered benefits that went improperly reported like apartment space in Manhattan.
The Daily Beast reported on the Trump company paying its financial obligations in New York. “The New York County Clerk received the payment in two separate checks on Jan. 24, according to a clerk who confirmed matter-of-factly that the checks didn’t bounce,” according to that publication, which also reported that the clerk’s team informed the judge who imposed the penalties that the Trump company paid up. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pointed after the penalties were imposed to the opportunity for New York authorities to let stiffer financial consequences emerge in such cases, since the $1.6 million has an only limited impact on the Trump company’s overall financial standing despite the years that Weisselberg and others spent skipping out on required taxes amid their company roles.
“It is also an important reminder that our state law must change so that we can impose more significant penalties and sanctions on corporations that commit crimes in New York,” Bragg said.
According to reports, Bragg is now presenting evidence to a jury in New York that deals with Trump’s role in a years-old hush money scheme targeting women with whom he purportedly had affairs. A potentially future case from Bragg over that situation could focus on the falsified business records crafted at the Trump Organization for reimbursements provided to Michael Cohen, a then-lawyer for Trump who personally paid some of the hush money. The offense of falsifying those records can be charged as a felony if connected to other criminal acts like a violation of election rules in New York. At the federal level, prosecutors already outlined a violation of election regulations, since the money Cohen dished out constituted an indirect donation in support of Trump’s 2016 campaign through helping with its public image — and far surpassed limits set for individuals supporting candidates for federal office.
