Trump's company sentenced $1.61 million penalty in tax fraud
World
Ongoing investigation’s chapter closed, will now go to next chapter, Manhattan Attorney
New York (Reuters) - Former US president Donald Trump’s real estate company has been sentenced to pay a $1.61 million criminal penalty in tax fraud case by a New York judge.
Two Trump organizations were found guilty of 17 criminal charges during investigation, Justice Juan Merchan of the Manhattan criminal court imposed the maximum possible sentence under the state law.
Earlier on Tuesday, Justice Juan Merchan had sentenced Allen Weisselberg for five months jail sentence after he had testified as star witness of the prosecutions. Allen Weisselberg has worked for Trump’s family for around 50-years as company’s chief financial officer.
Former president’s company was planning to go into appeal, one of the defence lawyer Susan Necheles said.
On the other side Alvin Bragg, District Attorney of Manhattan, has still been conducting criminal probe in business practices of the Trump’s businesses.
"The sentencing today, along with the sentencing earlier this week, closes this important chapter of our ongoing investigation into the former president and his businesses," Reuters has reported Bragg as saying that they will now go on to the next chapter.
The size of punishment was lamented by one of the prosecutors, Joshua Steinglass, who termed the penalty as only a tiny portion of the revenue of Trump Organization.
It is important to mention that Trump is also facing a civil lawsuit of $250 million by the state Attorney General Letitia James, who has accused the former president along with his children Donald Jr and Eric of inflating the net worth and asset values to save on loans and insurance.
During the four week trial of the case, the prosecutors had produced evidences of personal expenses of Trump’s company for executives without reporting them as income and also showing the Christmas bonuses were non-employee compensation.
The prosecutors also informed the court that bogus checks were signed by Trump himself along with the lease of Weisslberg’s luxury Manhattan apartment and private school tuition for his grandchildren.
