Jury finds Trump family business unlawfully paid top executives in cars, apartments and other off-the-books perks.
Former President Donald Trump’s family business was convicted Tuesday of criminal tax fraud, with a New York jury finding the Trump Organization engaged in an off-the-books compensation scheme to pay some executives in car leases, apartments and cash.
The jury found two Trump Organization corporate entities guilty of all criminal counts they faced, including conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The two entities could face a total of more than $1.6 million in fines.
The guilty verdict is a blow to Mr. Trump, who, while facing civil lawsuits and criminal investigations, declared his third consecutive presidential bid last month. The conviction and subsequent penalties for his company could compound the weariness from some Republicans who want to move on to other party leadership.
A judge set the company’s sentencing for Jan. 13.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the verdict holds the Trump business accountable for a long-running criminal scheme. “This was a case about greed and cheating,” Mr. Bragg said in a statement. “In Manhattan, no corporation is above the law.”
Mr. Trump wasn’t charged in the case, but his presence loomed over the trial. Prosecutors said that Mr. Trump sanctioned the tax-free benefits, and personally signed some checks for private-school tuition for former finance chief Allen Weisselberg’s grandchildren. During closing arguments, a defense attorney said Mr. Trump relied on an outside accountant who never told him the perks in question were illegal.
“Mr. Trump and his family are not here on trial before you,” the judge instructed the jury on Monday.
Mr. Trump said in a statement that he was disappointed with the verdict. “This case is unprecedented and involved no monetary gain to these two corporations,” he said.
A lawyer for the Trump Organization said the company would appeal.
A company spokeswoman said Mr. Weisselberg testified that he acted for his own personal gain. “The notion that a company could be held responsible for an employee’s actions, to benefit themselves, on their own personal tax returns is simply preposterous,” the spokeswoman said.
During the trial, which began in late October, jurors heard testimony from Trump Organization employees, a longtime Trump accountant and Mr. Weisselberg, the company’s former chief financial officer and star prosecution witness who pleaded guilty to 15 felonies for his role in the scheme.
Under an agreement with prosecutors, Mr. Weisselberg is expected to be sentenced to five months in jail, and likely serve just a portion of that, so long as he testified truthfully at trial.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19.
Prosecutors portrayed the Trump Organization as fostering a culture of fraud and deception, where off-the-books compensation extended beyond Mr. Weisselberg to other executives. Mr. Weisselberg told the jury that he illegally avoided paying taxes on benefits he received, including leased cars and a rent-free Manhattan apartment.
The verdict, which came on the second day of deliberations, largely turned on the question of whether Mr. Weisselberg intended to commit tax crimes to help not only himself, but also his employer. Under a New York law defining corporate criminal liability, jurors were required to find a high-ranking officer acted “in behalf of” his employer, or with an intent that there could be some benefit to the Trump Organization ……