Trump Organization Convicted of 17 Felonies, Gets Maximum Punishment

Former President Donald Trump suffered yet another crushing legal defeat as the New York State Supreme Court convicted his company, the Trump Organization, on 17 counts of tax fraud, a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, and falsifying business records.

Last December, the Trump Organization was previously convicted of giving one of its top executives some big off-the-books perks. This landed one of Trump's most trusted people, Allen Weisselberg, former Trump Organization CFO and "Trump's Moneyman," a term of five months in one of New York's most infamous prisons, Ryker's Island, according to the New York Times.

Allen Weisselberg was said to be one of the people behind the scheme and pleaded guilty to the charges laid out against him. He also received off-the-book perks from the Trump-owned company.

Trump Organization Received Maximum Punishment for Tax Fraud

According to New York state law, the two Trump entities, The Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp., can be fined up to $1.6 million. A New York State Supreme Court judge announced that the Trump Organization, which includes the two entities, must pay that maximum amount.

The Trump Organization is considered a multibillion-dollar company, and Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Judge Juan Merchan to make them pay the maximum amount. However, the prosecutor did admit that the fine, while hefty, will have a "minimal impact" on the Trump Organization.

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN that the $1.6 million fine against the Trump-owned company is important. However, he also implored lawmakers to raise the fines against these big companies that break the law.

"It's important regardless of who the defendant is because it's cheating and greed and cheating the taxpayers," Bragg said.

He also admitted that the penalty against the company was not enough as the trial proved that the company had a "pattern of deep greed and misconduct" that happened for around 13 years, adding, "we should have stiffer penalties for conduct like that."

While his company was on trial, former President Donald Trump and his family were not charged in this particular case. However, prosecutors have pointed out the former president was connected to the untaxed benefits that some of the company executives received. These benefits included company-funded apartments, car leases, and personal expenses. One prosecutor even pointed out that it was Donald Trump himself who "explicitly sanctioned" tax fraud.

Donald Trump May Not Have Fulfilled His Promise of Donating His Presidential Salary

Speaking of Donald Trump and taxes, the former president's newly-released tax returns indicate that he may not have done what he promised about donating his presidential salary.

His presidential salary in 2020 was reportedly worth $400,000. However, new reports indicated that he did not donate his salary for his final year in office, according to CNBC. However, the former president did donate in the previous years.

It was pointed out that it is unclear if he did or did not break his campaign promise because of how certain information was reported on his tax returns, said an accountant. In 2020, he did not pay any federal income taxes he reported a negative adjusted gross income for that year. He claimed that he did not have any taxable income so he did not pay any federal taxes.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Trump Organization fined $1.6 million for tax fraud