The Indictment of His CFO Hits Trump Where It Matters--In His Wallet
Will former President Donald Trump ever be held accountable for the crimes that seem to swirl all around him?
Perhaps he already has. Thursday’s indictment against his business and one of its top executives could hit the former president where it might hurt him the most—his wallet. The Manhattan District Attorney and New York Attorney General charged two entities doing business as the Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg with 15 fraud counts in a years-long scheme to evade income taxes by compensating employees “off the books.” The corporate defendants are accused of providing employees with cars, apartments, private school tuition, home improvements and bonuses without reporting the payments as income. By hiding benefits provided to employees, the Trump Organization was allegedly able to avoid payroll taxes and employees were able to artificially reduce their taxable income. The indictment accuses Weisselberg alone of concealing approximately $1.7 million of his own compensation from tax authorities.
While defense lawyers dismissed the charges as “inappropriate and unjustified,” the crimes are serious. As I learned during my career as a federal prosecutor, this is the way rich people steal money. The means are more sophisticated than sticking up someone with a gun on a street corner, but purpose is the same, which is why one of the charges is grand larceny— stealing property that doesn’t belong to you.
While Trump himself is not named as a defendant, he owns the corporate entity, which faces substantial criminal exposure. Corporate defendants cannot go to prison, but can be assessed fines, penalties and restitution in the form of back taxes. In addition to the potential penalties, Trump will incur legal fees in defending his business from the charges—all direct dents to his pocketbook.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-indictment-of-his-cfo-hits-trump-where-it-matters%e2%80%94in-his-wallet/ar-AALHG4p
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