{"slug":"trump-organization-criminal-conviction-tax-fraud","title":"Trump Organization Convicted on 17 Counts of Criminal Tax Fraud","date":"2022-12-06","lastUpdated":"2023-01-13","description":"On December 6, 2022, a Manhattan jury convicted the Trump Organization — Donald Trump's family business — on all 17 counts it faced in a criminal tax fraud trial. The company had paid longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg hundreds of thousands of dollars in off-the-books compensation including luxury apartments and private school tuition for his grandchildren, and concealed these payments from tax authorities. Trump himself was not charged. The Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million — the maximum allowed under New York law.","summary":"Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's CFO for decades, had pleaded guilty in August 2022 to 15 felony counts and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He testified against the company. The Trump Organization received $1.76 million in off-the-books compensation for Weisselberg and other executives over 15 years. The company was convicted on all 17 counts, including scheme to defraud and falsifying business records. The $1.6 million fine was the maximum allowed but was a fraction of what corporate criminal fines typically run; prosecutors noted the fine was limited by statute.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/06/nyregion/trump-organization-verdict-guilty.html","title":"Trump Organization Found Guilty on All Counts in Tax Fraud Trial","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/06/trump-organization-guilty-verdict/","title":"Trump Organization convicted on all 17 counts","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-organization-criminal-conviction-weisselberg","title":"Trump Organization convicted of tax fraud on all counts","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-statement-on-trump-organization-criminal-conviction/","title":"Statement on Trump Organization Criminal Conviction","publisher":"Manhattan District Attorney's Office"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Trump-Organization","tax-fraud","Weisselberg","conviction","post-presidency","New-York"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-07-01","title":"Trump Organization and Weisselberg indicted","summary":"Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. charges the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg with 15 counts of tax fraud, conspiracy, and falsifying records related to off-the-books compensation. The indictment is the first criminal charges against Trump's company."},{"date":"2022-08-18","title":"Weisselberg pleads guilty","summary":"Weisselberg pleads guilty to 15 felony counts, agreeing to cooperate against the Trump Organization at trial. He agrees to serve 100 days in jail and pay approximately $2 million. He does not agree to testify against Trump personally."},{"date":"2022-12-06","title":"Trump Organization convicted on all 17 counts","summary":"A Manhattan jury convicts the Trump Organization on all 17 counts after a three-week trial. The verdict makes the Trump Organization the first major company controlled by a U.S. president to be criminally convicted."},{"date":"2023-01-13","title":"Trump Organization fined $1.6 million","summary":"A judge sentences the Trump Organization to the maximum fine allowed under New York law: $1.6 million. Prosecutors note this is far below what would be typical for corporate criminal penalties but is the statutory maximum."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"post-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"New York state taxpayers defrauded through concealed compensation; rule of law","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Trump Organization","role":"Corporation convicted of 17 counts of criminal tax fraud","institution":"Trump Organization"},{"name":"Allen Weisselberg","role":"CFO; received off-the-books compensation; pleaded guilty to 15 felony counts; cooperated with prosecution","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2023-01-13","summary":"Updated with sentencing."}]}}