Trump's company 'cheated' tax authorities, prosecutor says at trial (updated)

Crown Equity Holdings

31/10/2022 14:53

(Adds quotes from prosecutor's opening statement)
    By Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen
       NEW 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 trial
on tax fraud charges. 
    The case is among the mounting legal troubles facing the
76-year-old Trump as he considers another bid for the presidency
after losing in 2020. 
    The Trump Organization between at least 2005 and 2021 paid
executives - including its chief financial officer, Allen
Weisselberg - in perks such as rent and car leases without
reporting those benefits to tax authorities, said Susan
Hoffinger, a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney's
office.
    "This case is about greed and cheating, cheating on taxes,"
Hoffinger said. "The scheme was conducted, directed and
authorized at the highest levels of the accounting department at
the company."
    Hoffinger said the company benefited from the scheme by
"keeping their trusted chief financial officer happy" and
avoiding some taxes.
    "Everybody wins here," Hoffinger said. "Of course, everybody
but the tax authorities. The problem with doing it this way is
that it's not legal." 
    Opening statements by lawyers for the two Trump Organization
units charged in the case - known as the Trump Corporation and
the Trump Payroll Corporation - are expected later on Monday.  
    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.
    Trump, who is considering another White House run in 2024,
has not been charged in the case. The Trump Organization has
pleaded not guilty.
    A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates were chosen last
week for the trial, in New York state court in Manhattan. One
alternate juror was discharged on Monday, leaving five.
    The trial is expected to last over a month. A unanimous
verdict is required for conviction on each count of tax fraud,
scheming to defraud, and falsifying business records.
    Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's longtime chief
financial officer, agreed to testify as a prosecution witness at
trial as part of a plea agreement for him to receive a sentence
of five months in jail.
    Weisselberg, who was charged along with the company last
year, admitted in August to scheming with the Trump Organization
and others not to report or to misreport substantial amounts of
his and other employees' income. 
    Weisselberg avoided taxes on $1.76 million in personal
income himself through luxury perks, such as rent for a
Manhattan apartment.
    A prosecutor told potential jurors last week Weisselberg
worked for the defendants and may be "reluctant" to answer
questions. 
    Weisselberg stepped down as CFO when he was indicted but
remained on the payroll as a senior advisor. After his guilty
plea, he went on paid leave, a source has told Reuters.
    The day he pleaded guilty, the Trump Organization called
Weisselberg a "fine and honorable man" who had been harassed by
law enforcement in a "politically motivated quest" to get Trump.
    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.
    Two top prosecutors on the case resigned in February, with
one saying felony charges against Trump, a Republican, were
warranted but that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
indicated doubts. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the investigation
is ongoing. 
    The case is separate from a $250 million civil lawsuit filed
by New York's attorney general against Trump, three of his adult
children and his company in September, accusing them of lying to
banks and insurers by overvaluing his real estate assets and
Trump's net worth.
    While that case is pending, the attorney general is seeking
to appoint a monitor to oversee the company's financial
practices, a move the company is challenging.
    Trump also faces a federal criminal investigation into the
removal of government documents from the White House when he
left office last year.
 (Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen in New York;
Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell)