Now Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is on trial for criminal tax fraud — on the hook for what prosecutors say was a 15-year scheme by top officials to avoid paying taxes on those extra benefits. In opening statements Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys disputed the company’s guilt. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger argued that the company is liable because the officers were “senior managers” who were assigned to act on behalf of the company and its various entities and that the company benefited because it did not have to pay them as much in actual salary . “This case is about greed and deception — tax evasion,” Hofiger said in a 40-minute opening statement. “[The Trump Organization] they paid their already highly paid executives even more by helping them cheat on taxes.” A lawyer for the company, Susan Necheles, countered that the company is being unfairly blamed for the actions of an executive — longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg — who essentially did wrong and was now cooperating with prosecutors to save himself. Weisselberg, a principal beneficiary of the scheme, whose apartment tuition, cars and grandchildren were paid for by the company, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the company in exchange for a five-month prison sentence. Weiselberg’s son and another Trump Organization executive were also accused of receiving off-the-books compensation. “It started with Allen Weisselberg and ended with Allen Weisselberg,” Necheles said in her opening statement. When they say the Trump company, “what they really mean is that Allen Weisselberg did something illegal to benefit Allen Weisselberg, his friend or his son,” he added. Last week, 12 jurors and six alternates were selected for the case, but one alternate was dismissed Monday. The tax fraud case is the only criminal trial to emerge from the Manhattan district attorney’s three-year investigation into the former president. It is one of three active cases involving Trump or the Trump Organization in New York courts. If convicted, the Trump Organization could be fined more than $1 million and face difficulties securing new loans and deals. Some partners and government entities could seek to sever ties with the company. It could also hamper its ability to do business with the US Secret Service, which sometimes pays the company for lodging and services while protecting Trump as a former president. Neither Trump nor any of his children who have worked as Trump Organization executives have been charged or accused of wrongdoing. Trump is not expected to testify or even attend the trial. Prosecutors said they don’t need to prove Trump knew about the scheme to be convicted and that the case is “not about Donald Trump.” But a defense lawyer, William J Brennan, said that even if he is not physically there, Trump is “always present, like the fog in the room”. That’s because Trump is synonymous with the Trump Organization, the entity through which he manages his many ventures, including his investments in golf courses, luxury towers and other real estate, his many marketing deals and television pursuits. Trump signed some of the checks at the center of the case. His name appears in memoranda and other company documents. Witnesses could testify about conversations they had with Trump. They are even expected to enter Trump’s personal ledgers as evidence. Today, I filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for engaging in years of financial fraud to enrich himself, his family and the Trump Organization. There are no two sets of laws for people in this nation: former presidents must be held to the same standards as everyday Americans. — NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 21, 2022 Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to $1.7 million in restitution, blamed himself and other top Trump Organization executives, including the company’s senior vice president and controller, Jeffrey McConney. Prosecutors said they expect to call 15 witnesses, including Weisselberg and McConney, who were granted limited immunity to testify before a grand jury last year. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan expects the trial to last at least four weeks. In addition to the criminal case, Trump and the Trump Organization are defendants in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which alleges that Trump and the company inflated his net worth by billions of dollars and misled banks and others to years on the value of various assets. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, in the Bronx, jury selection was set to begin Monday in a lawsuit brought by protesters who say they were brutally assaulted by security guards outside Trump Tower. The former president had testified in this case last year.
