Donald Trump's company was fined $1.6 million Friday as punishment for a scheme in which the Former President's top executives dodged personal income taxes on lavish job perks — a symbolic, hardly crippling blow for an enterprise boasting billions of dollars in assets.
A fine was the only penalty a judge could impose on the Trump Organisation for its conviction last month for 17 tax crimes, including conspiracy and falsifying business records.
The amount imposed by Judge Juan Manuel Merchan was the maximum allowed by law, an amount equal to double the taxes a small group of executives avoided on benefits including rent-free apartments in Trump buildings, luxury cars and private school tuition.
Trump himself was not on trial and denied any knowledge of his executives evading taxes illegally.
Former President Donald Trump waves as he departs Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in New York. The stiffest penalty Donald Trump’s company could receive when it is sentenced Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, by a New York judge for helping its executives dodge taxes is a $1.6 million fine — not even enough to buy a Trump Tower apartment. | Photo Credit: AP
The Trump Organisation was charged through its subsidiaries Trump Corp., which was fined $810,000; and Trump Payroll Corp., which was fined $800,000.
While the fines — less than the cost of a Trump Tower apartment — aren't big enough to impact the company's operations or future, the conviction is a black mark on the Republican's reputation as a savvy businessman as he mounts a campaign to regain the White House.
Neither the former president or his children, who helped run and promote the Trump Organisation, were in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing.
In a statement released after sentencing, the Trump Organisation said it did nothing wrong and would appeal the verdict.
“New York has become the crime and murder capital of the world, yet these politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to get President Trump and continue the never ending witch-hunt which began the day he announced his presidency,” the statement said.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said the fines constitute “a fraction of the revenue” of the Trump Organisation and that the scheme was “far-reaching and brazen.”
“All of these corrupt practices were part of the Trump Organisation executive compensation package, and it was certainly cheaper than paying higher salaries to those executives,” he said.
Corporation, not a person
Defense attorneys had argued that the fine should be slightly lower because, they said, state law bars fines on multiple counts of the same charge.
They estimated the penalty should have been $750,000 or less for each of the two Trump entities.
Trump Organization Attorney Alan Futerfas arrives at the New York Supreme Court for the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization on January 13, 2023 in New York City. A jury last month found the Trump Organization guilty and convicted the organization on charges of conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records, and filing false tax returns in a scheme to defraud the state. The case is unrelated to the civil case being brought by NY Attorney General Letitia James against the Trump Organization. | Photo Credit: Photo courtesy: Getty Images via AFP
Because the Trump Organisation is a corporation and not a person, a fine is the only way a judge can punish the company after its conviction last month for 17 tax crimes, including charges of conspiracy and falsifying business records.
The company asked for 30 days to pay the fine; the judge ordered it to pay in 14 days.
By law, the maximum penalty that can be imposed by Merchan is around $1.6 million, an amount equal to double the taxes a small group of executives avoided on benefits including rent-free apartments in Trump buildings, luxury cars and private school tuition.
Trump himself was not on trial and denied any knowledge of his executives evading taxes illegally.
While a fine of that amount isn't likely to affect the company's operations or future, the conviction is a black mark on the Republican's reputation as a savvy businessman as he mounts a campaign to regain the White House.
Besides the company, only one executive was charged in the case: former Trump Organisation Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty last summer to evading taxes on $1.7 million in compensation.
He was sentenced Tuesday to five months in jail.
Trump has said the case against his company was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” waged against him by vindictive Democrats.
The company's lawyers have vowed to appeal the verdict.
The criminal case involved financial practices and pay arrangements that the company halted when Trump was elected president in 2016.
Over his years as the company's chief moneyman, Weisselberg had received a rent-free apartment in a Trump-branded building in Manhattan with a view of the Hudson River.
He and his wife drove Mercedes-Benz cars, leased by company. When his grandchildren went to an exclusive private school, Trump paid their tuition.
A handful of other executives received similar perks.
When called to testify against the Trump Organisation at trial, Weisselberg testified that he didn't pay taxes on that compensation, and that he and a company vice president conspired to hide the perks by having the company issue falsified W-2 forms.
Trump Organization’s former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg arrives for sentencing for tax fraud scheme at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, U.S., January 10, 2023. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Weisselberg also attempted to take responsibility on the witness stand, saying nobody in the Trump family knew what he was doing.
He choked up as he told jurors, “It was my own personal greed that led to this.”
Trump Organisation lawyers repeated the mantra, “Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg,” contending that he had gone rogue and betrayed the company's trust.
Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass attempted to refute that claim in his closing argument, showing jurors a lease Trump signed himself for Weisselberg's apartment.
“Mr. Trump is explicitly sanctioning tax fraud,” Steinglass argued.
A jury convicted the company of tax fraud on Dec. 6.
The company's fine will be barely a dent in the bottom line for an enterprise with a global portfolio of golf courses, hotels and development deals.
It could face more trouble outside of court due to the reputational damage, such as difficulty finding new deals and business partners.
The Trump Organisation's sentencing doesn't end Trump's battle with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who said the sentencing “closes this important chapter of our ongoing investigation into the former president and his businesses. We now move onto the next chapter.”
Bragg, a Democrat who took office in January, was referring to a related investigation of Trump that began under his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr.
At the same time, New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Trump and the Trump Organisation, alleging they misled banks and others about the value of its many assets, a practice she dubbed the “art of the steal.”
James, a Democrat, is asking a court to ban Trump and his three eldest children from running any New York-based company and is seeking to fine them at least $250 million.
A judge has set an October trial date. As a preliminary measure, he appointed a monitor for the company while the case is pending.
Trump faces several other legal challenges as he looks to retake the White House in 2024.
A special grand jury in Atlanta has investigated whether Trump and his allies committed any crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Last month, the House Jan. 6 committee voted to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Trump's role in sparking the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The FBI is also investigating Trump's storage of classified documents.
Published - January 13, 2023 09:27 pm IST
