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☆ Some of NY Gov. Kathy Hochul's top donors privately sound alarm over GOP candidate Lee Zeldin surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Kathy Hochul's top donors are privately panicking about Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin's recent surge in the polls ahead of Tuesday's midterms, according to people familiar with the matter. One Democratic advisor, who counts numerous Hochul donors as clients, said he's having "PTSD" as he sees Zeldin closing in on Hochul in the polls. Bragg has been criticized, often by GOP officials, for the uptick in crime in New York City. Zeldin said at the debate that his first initiative if he becomes governor is to remove Bragg from office. Hochul told Zeldin at the time "you can't throw out someone who is duly elected."

A New York state judge on Thursday ordered an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization's financial statements following allegations that the company has been vastly overstating its assets. In a hearing in state Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan, Trump attorney Chris Kise argued the move was unnecessary and could hamper the company's business. The motion for a preliminary injunction said Trump Organization representatives created a new company with the same name in Delaware six days before James’ office brought the suit. The company then filed paperwork to register Trump Organization II LLC in New York on Sept. 21, the same day the civil action was filed. In a letter to Engoron on Thursday morning, James' office said the trust documents "pertain to ownership and control of the business assets."

☆ Trump Org jury sees 1st evidence linking Donald Trump's Sharpie to alleged tax-dodge scheme
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The documents were introduced through the trial's first witness, Jeffrey McConney, who as Trump Organization's controller is responsible for its payroll and tax reporting. "President Trump," McConney said of the signature, identifying the now widely-recognized, mini mountain range of Sharpie ink at the bottom of the letter. "In other words, Donald J. Trump authorized Donald J. Trump to sign the lease" for the apartment, Steinglass asked of the letter's content. "Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg," as Trump Organization lawyer Michael van der Veen told jurors repeatedly in openings. "Who decided that Donald Trump would pay Allen Weisselberg's tuition," the prosecutor then asked.

The criminal trial focused on the Trump Organization was delayed until next week after a witness in the case tested positive for Covid on Tuesday. McConney, the first witness to be called in the case, had been coughing frequently since taking the stand on Monday. The judge presiding over the case, acting state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, adjourned the case until Nov. 7. McConney acknowledged on the stand that Trump signed $359,000 in checks for tuition for Weisselberg's grandchildren in the years before he was elected president. Weisselberg had been expected to testify next week, but McConney's illness will likely push back Weisselberg's testimony to mid-November.

☆ Trump Organization tax fraud trial delayed after witness tests positive for COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The criminal tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization was put on hold on Tuesday after the company's controller, Jeffrey McConney, who had been testifying as a prosecution witness, tested positive for COVID-19. The Trump Organization operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world. The two Trump Organization units charged have pleaded not guilty. The judge later announced that McConney tested positive. If convicted, the Trump Organization could face $1.6 million in fines.

☆ First prosecution witness in Trump Org trial is still paid $450K a year — by the Trump Org
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Steinglass asked, in one awkward confrontation, as he labored to reacquaint himself in public with his own witness. Steinglass asked. Also paid for by the Trump Organization, McConney testified. "His attorney in fact is paid by the Trump Organization," Steinglass argued to the trial judge, state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, outside the jury's hearing. Two subsidiaries of the Trump Organization — the Trump Corporation, which employs its executives, and the Trump Payroll Corporation, which pays those executives — are charged in a 15-year tax-dodge scheme.

☆ Trump Organization Trial Starts With Sparring over Allen Weisselberg’s Intent
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Michael van der Veen, in red necktie, is a defense attorney in the tax-fraud trial against the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization’s criminal trial began Monday with arguments over whether longtime finance chief Allen Weisselberg directed a fraud scheme to help reduce the company’s tax bill or instead was motivated by securing personal benefits including a rent-free Manhattan apartment and paid leases for luxury cars. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has brought tax-fraud charges against two companies—Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp.—that are part of a group of entities collectively referred to as the Trump Organization. The companies were owned by Donald Trump until he became president, and afterward controlled through Mr. Trump’s trust.

Prosecutors have charged two Trump Organization units with cheating tax authorities over a 15-year period. Lawyers for the two Trump Organization units said Weisselberg cheated on taxes to benefit himself, not the company. To prove the Trump Organization is guilty, prosecutors must show that a "high managerial agent" of the company - in this case, Weisselberg - acted in his official capacity. He and others also got paid bonuses from other Trump Organization entities as contractors, rather than as employees. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, has rejected the argument that the Trump Organization was targeted for selective prosecution.

REUTERS/Go NakamuraNEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump's real estate company cheated tax authorities over a 15-year period, a New York prosecutor told a jury on Monday in her opening statement in the Trump Organization's criminal tax fraud trial. The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, the Trump Organization - which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world - could face up to $1.6 million in fines. It could also further complicate the real estate firm's ability to do business. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, has rejected the argument that the Trump Organization was targeted for selective prosecution.

Opening arguments are set to begin Monday in the high-profile criminal case against the Trump Organization, the former president's family-run company that helped make him a household name. The star witness for prosecutors will be Allen Weisselberg, the company’s longtime chief financial officer who is currently on paid leave from the Trump Organization. He was indicted alongside the Trump Organization last year after a yearslong investigation into the company’s financial practices by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The Trump Organization faces up to about $1.6 million in penalties if convicted on all counts. They're seeking unspecified money damages, and the trial will feature videotaped testimony that Trump gave in the case last year.

NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Opening statements are set for Monday in the criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump's real estate company of a 15-year tax fraud. If convicted, the company - which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world - could face up to $1.6 million in fines. It could also further complicate the real estate firm's ability to do business. But in a pretrial hearing this month, a Trump Organization lawyer accused Weisselberg of lying, an indication of the bind the company finds itself in. Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, has rejected the argument that the Trump Organization was targeted for selective prosecution.

☆ Trump Organization unveils its defense strategy: Keep any of the blame away from Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Laura Italiano | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Defense attorneys in the New York criminal tax-fraud trial of former President Donald Trump's international real-estate company unveiled their strategy in the case on Monday — keep all blame off the former president and anyone else with the Trump name. Trump Organization lawyer Susan Necheles told the jury during opening statements on Monday that the fraud scheme "started with" former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg "and it ended with Allen Weisselberg." "So when the prosecutor said the Trump Organization did something illegal for Allen Weisselberg, what they really mean is that Allen Weisselberg did something illegal," Necheles told the 12-person jury. Necheles continued, "The evidence will show that it's all about Allen Weisselberg. But Allen Weisselberg does not own the Trump Organization."

NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The judge in the criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump's real estate company on charges of tax fraud set opening statements for Monday after the conclusion of jury selection on Friday with six alternates named to the panel. Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty and will testify for the prosecution. 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. Those selected as alternate jurors included several who expressed dislike for Trump, including one who described some of his comments as "racist" and another who called him "offensive" and "degrading." Weisselberg pleaded guilty to charges including grand larceny and tax fraud while admitting to concealing $1.76 million in income.

☆ Trump Org prosecutors reveal some of their own witnesses 'won't even talk to us' because they're pro-Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

During jury selection, prosecutors revealed two DA witnesses have stopped meeting with them. At least three DA witnesses, including Trump Org's ex-controller and CFO, remain on Trump's payroll. McConney and at least one other key DA witness also remain on the Trump payroll, Insider has learned from multiple sources. "And the fact that witnesses are still working at the Trump Corporation, that they're meeting with the Trump Corporation, they won't meet with us … Those things go towards, you know, witness hostility, witness adversity. I feel like they have been threatening me and my family and everybody in the Trump Corporation.'"

☆ Kanye West is no longer working with the white-shoe lawyers who helped him break his deal with the Gap. Here's what they have to say.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Now his lawyers at Cadwalader and Brown Rudnick appear to be distancing themselves. Now, even lawyers that have prided themselves on representing controversial clients appear to be doing the same. A Brown Rudnick spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the TMZ report. Ekwan Rhow, a principal at the law firm Bird Marella, previously referred to himself as a "personal adviser" to West in his online biography, an archived version shows. Gravante made a similar comment to the Cadwalader spokesman when asked for comment about the "Love Lockdown" singer.

☆ 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.

☆ Trump could testify in tax fraud trial of Trump organization. How to keep the jury unbiased.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Jeffrey Abramson | Jeffrey Abramson Is A Professor Of Government Emeritus At The University Of Texas At Austin | Author Of | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Jury selection began Monday in the Manhattan district attorney’s prosecution of the Trump Organization for tax fraud. The trial judge may be tempted to eliminate anyone who acknowledges having formed some opinions before trial about Trump personally or the evidence reported in the media against the Trump Organization. But in March, the Supreme Court reinstated Tsarnaev’s death sentence, arguably changing jury selection for the worse. In the Black Lives Matter era, we have seen several high-profile trials that challenged the search for impartial jurors. And it’s not a standard that should be employed as jurors are vetted in the New York criminal trial of the Trump Organization.

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.

☆ Jury selection for the Trump Organization trial started with a warning: Brace for a long trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The criminal tax fraud trial of Trump's business empire has begun in Manhattan. The Trump Org was charged in 'a long-time scheme to defraud the tax authorities,' the judge said. Jurors were told that jury selection should take one week and that the trial could take five to six weeks after that. The Trump Organization, which has pleaded not guilty, could face harsh tax penalties and be fined more than $1 million if convicted. Conviction could hamper the company's business dealings and even prompt the government to bar the Trump Organization from doing business as a federal contractor, as Insider has previously reported.

☆ A prospective juror excused from Trump Organization tax evasion trial said 'there is no chance in hell' she could have been impartial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump is not on trial, but his real estate and golf resort empire — the Trump Organization — is. The woman, who lives in the Midtown East neighborhood, made the remarks as jury selection was underway in the tax evasion trial of Trump's business, the Trump Organization. Last year, the Trump Organization and Weisselberg were indicted on 15 felony counts, including criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records, scheming to defraud, and conspiracy. Prosecutors have accused the Trump Organization of running a 15-year scheme to defraud federal, New York state, and New York City tax authorities. The Trump Organization, which has pleaded not guilty, could face harsh tax penalties and be fined more than $1 million if convicted.

☆ Trump Organization Tax-Fraud Trial Set to Begin in New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

While the Trump Organization has been the subject of legal scrutiny, this marks the first time the company has faced a criminal trial. The criminal tax-fraud trial of the Trump Organization is set to begin with jury selection Monday, offering a rare look into an opaque company that prosecutors say illegally paid some executives in cars, apartments and cash. The Manhattan district attorney’s office alleges former President Donald Trump’s family business effectively kept two sets of books. In internal records, the company recorded perks—including Mercedes-Benz cars for Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and his wife and private-school tuition for his grandchildren—as employee compensation. But Mr. Weisselberg and the company didn’t report the benefits to tax authorities, prosecutors said.

☆ Former longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg expected to be star witness in company's tax fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Trump Organization CFO will be a star witness in the company's tax fraud trial, Bloomberg reports. Prosecutors allege that the company engaged in a tax fraud scheme by compensating senior executives with perks like apartments and company cars under Weisselberg's supervision. Under the plea's conditions, Weisselberg — a loyal, 40-year bookkeeper for Trump and his family —agreed to testify in the upcoming trial. The criminal charges are against Trump's corporation, a small private company, but Donald Trump is the Trump Organization." If the Trump Organization is found guilty, it would have to pay back taxes and fines totaling about $1.6 million.

☆ How a conviction in Trump Org's upcoming trial could bar Trump from federal contracts, even for Secret Service
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Laura Italiano | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A ban could end his 'exorbitant' billing of Secret Service agents who protect him at his resorts. Add to that the recent news that the Trump Organization had billed the Secret Service more than $ 1.4 million to stay at Trump properties during the former president's time in office. At the Trump Organization headquarters in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the cars, apartments and tuition were considered part of Weisselberg's $940,000-a-year income, prosecutors allege. Secret Service a tough targetWatchdogs concede that Trump's Secret Service billing is a tough target. Barring the unlikelihood of a cash-free solution — Trump letting the Secret Service "stay at our properties for free," as Eric Trump once promised, or forgoing Secret Service protection voluntarily, as Richard Nixon did — Trump's Secret Service spigot may well remain open, watchdogs acknowledge.

☆ Trump company set for criminal trial in an off-books pay scheme
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

If convicted, the Trump Organization could be fined more than $1 million — but that's not the only potential fallout. The Trump Organization has said it did nothing wrong and that it looks forward "to having our day in court." The former Trump Organization chief financial officer must also pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest and complete five years of probation. When the Trump Organization and Weisselberg were indicted in 2021, prosecutors called the tax scheme "sweeping and audacious" and said it was "orchestrated by the most senior executives." "The purpose of the scheme was to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in a manner that was 'off the books,'" the indictment said.

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