The fees are the first imposed by New York prosecutors in the case since they introduced their investigation about two years ago into the money dealings of Trump, his company, his circle of family members and associates.
Weisselberg and the company pleaded not guilty to the felony charges, adding second-degree burglary, as defined in a lengthy indictment opened in Manhattan State Supreme Court. Weisselberg was released on bail but had his passport.
“This is a tax fraud scheme that lasted 15 years,” said Carey Dunn, a general suggested in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office. “It was orchestrated through the highest leaders.
“During the operation of the scheme, defendants made sure internally that Weisselberg obtained an indirect refund from Trump Organization workers in the amount of approximately $1. 76 million . . . the indictment says.
The fees are a “disgrace” and “shameful,” Trump told ABC News after the indictment was unveiled, calling Weisselberg a “great person. “
“Disgrace, misfortune, misfortune,” the former president repeated.
The maximum seed rate opposite To Weisselberg, felony theft at the time of degree, is a nonviolent offense that has a maximum of five to fifteen years of bars. The maximum serious rates for corporations are the tax evasion rates of criminals, so the company can be fined.
The indictment states that beginning in 2005, Weisselberg used the Trump Company’s bank account to pay rent for his apartment, and that he and others paid the expenses of his application into the Trump Company’s account. The indictment also accuses Weisselberg of concealing “indirect compensation” through bills from the Trump Organization to cover nearly $360,000 in high-level personal school bills for his circle of relatives and nearly $200,000 in luxury car rentals.
“Weisselberg knowingly internally oblique offset invoices from his non-public source of income tax returns, knows that those invoices represented a taxable source of income, and was treated as offsets through Trump Corporation in internal records,” the indictment states.
Trump called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt” led by Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats. The investigation was a joint effort through the workplace of the prosecutor and James, who campaigned on a promise to investigate the Trumps.
“The case brought through the New York District Attorney’s Office is unprecedented,” Trump’s attorney Alan Futerfas said in a statement. “We are not aware of any cases brought in this case involving workers’ compensation, and we cannot locate any of those cases. cases never brought through the IRS. Compensation cases are resolved through civil tax authorities, not through criminal charges. “
“The chief financial officer himself ordered that the company’s records be removed to conceal its involvement in the plan,” Dunn said in court proceedings. “Even now, there has been no attempt to impose ground on those involved, report crimes, reimburse them, or even replace any of the false tax returns. Instead, in the face of our research, the company, at the highest level, made the decision not to settle for duty and cooperate, which corporations do if they need to be considered a smart corporate citizen. Instead, it forced us to have litigation for a year and a half, adding two trips to the Supreme Court. “
“Today is a vital milestone in the ongoing criminal investigation into the Trump organization and its monetary leader, Allen Weisselberg,” James said in strict compliance with the charges. “This investigation will continue and we will stick to the facts and the law. wherever they take us. “
For nearly two years, the Trump case has been in the midst of Manhattan prosecutors, who have gone all the way to the Supreme Court in the fight to gain access to Trump’s tax returns and monetary records. former lawyer Michael Cohen, who told Congress that the Trump Organization valued his assets when he implemented loans and when he spoke with tax authorities.
After a Supreme Court ruling in March, the documents were turned over to the Manhattan prosecutor’s workplace through the accountants of the former President of Mazars USA. Trump’s tax documents are millions of pages long, a source told ABC News at the time. At the same time, Vance’s team expanded to ask former U. S. Attorney Mark Pomerantz to check the curtains and help build a case that would be presented to a grand jury. The previous Manhattan team of prosecutors this year. The former federal prosecutor specializes in white-collar money crimes.
In recent weeks, the Manhattan district attorney has made the rare move to form a special grand jury aimed at trump’s investigation. ABC News first reported that one of the Trump Organization’s most sensitive executives, Jeff McConney, among several witnesses who gave the impression before the special Grand Jury Sources close to the case say no other member of the Trump Organization’s leadership was invited to testify.
Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump for decades, is one of Trump’s most senior workers and has been described through Trump as one of the top loyalists. Weisselberg worked for Trump’s father, Fred Trump, before joining a young Donald Trump to build the Trump. organization.
In his 2004 book, “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire,” Trump described Weisselberg as someone who “knows how to do things” and who did “whatever was mandatory to protect the effects, and refused to succumb to the pressures of threats. “
Weisselberg also gave the impression in at least one episode of “The Apprentice,” where Trump portrayed him as “tough. “
A few days before taking the presidential oath in January 2017, Trump named Weisselberg, along with Trump’s two adult sons, as members of the Trump Organization. Weisselberg’s son, Barry, also works for the Trump Organization, where he worked on some of the company’s innovations. Properties owned by the City of York.
Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg, interviewed through the district attorney’s office, told ABC News, and asked about everything from the license plate to the family circle apartment and several cars.
“Some of the questions they were asking were about Allen’s payment at the Trump Place apartment on Riverside Boulevard,” Jennifer Weisselberg told ABC News in an interview earlier this year.
In addition to the Vance case, Trump’s circle of relatives and the company are under civil review through the New York Attorney General’s Office, which introduced Weisselberg and at least one of Trump’s sons, Eric, in connection with the company’s monetary transactions, adding those of its two charitable foundations.
In addition, the Attorney General’s Office in Washington, D. C. conducted a year-long investigation into Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee, into whether the budget was well spent and counted after Trump’s inauguration that raised the highest cash in history, totaling $107 million. .
Trump’s adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka, submitted statements in this investigation, as did Trump’s longtime friend and nominee chairman, Tom Barrack. No fees were charged in this case.
Mike Levine and Luc Bruggeman of ABC News contributed to this report.
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