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☆ Explainer: Trump's Supreme Court loss the latest failure to keep tax returns secret
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prosecutors have accused the Trump Organization of paying executives through off-the-books perks including bonuses as if they were freelancers. WHY DOES CONGRESS WANT TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS? DO OTHER OFFICIALS HAVE TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS? The Manhattan district attorney in February 2021 said it obtained eight years of Trump's tax returns in the investigation that led to the Trump Organization's tax fraud trial. The Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday to allow the panel to obtain the tax returns came a week after Trump announced his latest presidential run.

But Bender on Tuesday testified that Weisselberg assured him that the details he provided to prepare his tax returns were accurate and did not warrant further investigation. "I did due diligence, we had frank conversations and he said he felt it was appropriate and it was his tax return," Bender told jurors. The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty. Weisselberg testified last week that he knew he was not an independent contractor. Mazars in February dropped the Trump Organization as a client and said it could no longer stand behind a decade of Trump's financial statements.

Trump, a Republican, has accused James, a Democrat, of suing him because she dislikes him and his politics. The Trump Organization is now on trial in another Manhattan courtroom on criminal tax fraud charges. Trump also faces a criminal investigation in Georgia into whether he interfered with the 2020 election results in that state. "Who stands to gain from this highly-politicized farse [sic], aside from the politically-compromised Attorney General of the State of New York?" Both testified as prosecution witnesses in the Manhattan criminal trial in which prosecutors accused the company of engaging in tax fraud spanning 15 years.

The company, which has pleaded not guilty, could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts it faces, if convicted. The first witness called by the defense was Donald Bender, an accountant with the firm Mazars who handled the Trump Organization's taxes. Bender was granted immunity from prosecution for testifying before the grand jury that indicted the company and Weisselberg. Bender said he prepared tax returns for Weisselberg and his family members free of charge as an "accommodation." Mazars in February dropped the company as a client and said it could no longer stand behind a decade of Trump's financial statements.

☆ Prosecutors rest case in Trump Organization's criminal tax fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts it faces, if convicted. Trump, a Republican who last week launched another bid for the presidency in 2024, has called the charges politically motivated. The district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to charges including grand larceny and tax fraud in an August deal with prosecutors calling for a jail sentence of five months if he testified truthfully in the trial. Weisselberg, who has worked for the company for nearly half a century, is on paid leave from the Trump Organization. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday named a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department's investigations related to Trump including his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Weisselberg testified that during the cleanup, Trump's sons knew the company paid executives' personal expenses that were not reported as income, and gave them bonuses as if they were independent contractors. Weisselberg said the company also did not fire or otherwise discipline two other executives who had engaged in similar practices. He said he had little interaction with Trump about the company after Trump became president. But he said Trump was aware the company had paid rent on Weisselberg's luxury Manhattan apartment for years, and signed the lease in 2005. Weisselberg told Hoffinger he did not recall whether Futerfas seemed unhappy with his testimony.

Cohen, now a vocal Trump critic, said the real estate company stopped paying his bills after he began cooperating with several investigations. In a 5-0 decision, the Appellate Division in Manhattan said a trial judge erred in dismissing Cohen's lawsuit. The court said it was unclear whether Cohen's legal fees mounted because he had been a Trump Organization employee, which would entitle him to reimbursement. The fees kept growing, and the Trump Organization has paid some of them, court papers show. Michael Cohen and Justice Cohen are not related.

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Allen Weisselberg, a longtime senior executive at former U.S. President Donald Trump's family business, took the stand on Tuesday as the prosecution's star witness at the Trump Organization's tax fraud trial in New York state court. Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty in August to avoiding taxes on $1.76 million in personal income and helping Trump's real estate company engineer the tax fraud scheme. During questioning by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger on Tuesday, Weisselberg said he began working as an accountant for Trump's father, the real estate developer Fred Trump, in 1973. Weisselberg said the Trump Organization's business portfolio grew more diversified since he began working there, branching out into hotels, golf courses and commercial properties. Weisselberg is the third witness to take the stand in the trial, which began with jury selection on Oct. 24.

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNov 10 (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump was aware of allegedly illegal tax practices at his namesake real estate company, a senior executive indicated in testimony on Thursday during the Trump Organization's criminal trial on charges of tax fraud. McConney was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying, and remains employed by the Trump Organization. Asked whether he helped people evade tax, McConney said, "Evade is a very strong word. McConney said a former general counsel, Jason Greenblatt, received bonuses as non-employee compensation until 2011 when the company's accountant told McConney to stop. McConney also identified Trump's initials on a memo concerning the reduction of Trump Organization executive Matthew Calamari's salary by $72,000, reflecting rent for his apartment.

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday appealed a judge's order to install a watchdog at the Trump Organization before a civil fraud case by the state's attorney general goes to trial. Engoron's order bars the defendants from transferring assets without court approval, and requires that the monitor receive a "full and accurate description" of the Trump Organization's structure and assets. In a notice of appeal filed on Monday, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba and lawyers for his children, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr., said the defendants asked the Appellate Division, a mid-level state appeals court, to review Engoron's order, without laying out her legal arguments. Trump, a Republican, last week called Engoron's order "ridiculous," and the Trump Organization called it an "obvious attempt" to influence Tuesday's midterm U.S. elections. The case is among many legal battles Trump faces as he mulls a 2024 bid for the presidency.

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A New York judge on Thursday ordered that an independent watchdog be appointed to oversee the Trump Organization before a civil fraud case by the state's attorney general against Donald Trump's company goes to trial. Last month, James asked the Manhattan-based judge to appoint an independent monitor to halt ongoing fraud at the company and keep the Trumps from transferring assets out of her reach. In a statement, the Trump Organization objected to "political persecution" by James, a Democrat, ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections. He said James had no legal authority to challenge how Trump valued his properties, calling it a private matter between Trump's company and its lenders and insurers. The Trump Organization manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world.

☆ Trump company loses bid to toss initial jury pool in criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Manhattan district attorney's office last year charged the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its then-chief financial officer, with awarding "off the books" benefits to some senior executives, enabling certain employees to understate their taxable compensation and the company to evade payroll taxes. Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to charges including grand larceny and tax fraud while admitting to concealing $1.76 million in income. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial in a New York state court, said he was closely observing the prospective jurors and disagreed with van der Veen. "I can appreciate that in your opinion the other jurors were visibly chilled," Merchan said, addressing van der Veen. Prosecutors and defense lawyers later on Tuesday were expected to begin questioning the 18 prospective jurors, the next step in what is expected to be a weeklong process to seat a 12-member panel.

The charges to which Weisselberg pleaded guilty included grand larceny and tax fraud, and he admitted concealing $1.76 million in income. The Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts it faces. In his guilty plea, Weisselberg admitted to scheming with the company so that "substantial portions" of his and other employees' income was unreported or misreported. Weisselberg has worked for the Trump Organization for nearly half a century. After his guilty plea, he was placed on a paid leave of absence, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Manhattan district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its then-chief financial officer, in July 2021. Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to 15 charges, which included grand larceny and tax fraud, and admitted concealing $1.76 million in income in an agreement with prosecutors that requires him to testify at this trial. Prosecutors accused the company of engaging in a sweeping tax fraud over a period of 15 years starting in 2005. Lawyers for the Trump Organization have called the case a "selective prosecution" based on animosity by the prosecution toward Trump for his political views, though the judge overseeing it has rejected that argument. Two other Trump Organization employees received compensation in the form of lodging and car leases, prosecutors added.

While jurors cannot be excluded for simply holding certain political views or expressing disapproval of Trump, experts said the lawyers will aim to remove jurors who cannot be fair and impartial. Similarly, Gomez said the government will look to weed out strongly pro-Trump jurors who are unable to put those views aside. However, a guilty verdict must be unanimous, which means one juror unwilling to convict the Trump Organization would upend the government's case. Neither the district attorney's office nor the Trump Organization's lawyers responded to requests for comment. Lawyers for the Trump Organization have claimed the Manhattan district attorney's case is a "selective prosecution" based on animosity toward Trump's political views, though the judge overseeing it has rejected that argument.

☆ Explainer: What New York's lawsuit means for Trump and his family company
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

James accused Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulently misstating the values of numerous properties to obtain favorable loans and tax benefits. The company's portfolio in New York state includes 14 residential properties, three commercial properties and two golf courses as well as Seven Springs, according to its website. James cannot bring criminal charges against Trump in this investigation because her probe was a civil one, not a criminal one. The Trump Organization has separately been charged with criminal tax fraud by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and is preparing for a scheduled Oct. 24 trial. A criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, while civil cases require a lower standard of proof.

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