Trump Organization and its CFO charged with tax crimes

By Melissa Macaya, Melissa Mahtani, Maureen Chowdhury, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 7:39 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021
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5:51 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Prosecutors say Trump Org gave Weisselberg approximately $1.76 million in untaxed compensation

From CNN’s Erica Orden and Sonia Moghe

According to the indictment, the Trump Organization company paid for rent, utilities and garage expenses on a Riverside Boulevard apartment that chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and his wife occupy.

The indictment says the company maintained internal spreadsheets tracking the amounts it paid for Weisselberg’s rent, utilities and garage expenses, and that it accordingly reduced the amount of direct compensation to account for the expenses it was paying for him. The company didn’t withhold income taxes on the indirect compensation, and Weisselberg reported only his direct compensation on his tax returns, according to the indictment.

Though Weisselberg began living in a Riverside Boulevard apartment rented by the company for him in 2005, he didn’t say he was a New York City resident on his taxes until 2013, when he sold his home in Wantagh, New York, thereby avoiding paying city income taxes, according to the indictment.

Between 2005 and June 2021, prosecutors said that Weisselberg received indirect employee compensation from the Trump Organization in the approximate amount of $1.76 million, the indictment said.

Over that span prosecutors say Weisselberg “thereby evaded approximately $556,385 in federal taxes, approximately $106,568 in state taxes, and approximately $238,159 in New York City taxes, and he falsely claimed and received approximately $94,902 in federal tax refunds and approximately $38,222 in state tax refunds, to which he was not entitled.”

More details: The indictment alleges the tuition payments were part of a “scheme to defraud” and that Trump Organization personnel, including Weisselberg, arranged for the tuition payments for Weisselberg’s family members. 

Jennifer Weisselberg, Allen Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law, previously told CNN she believed Trump paid for tuition for her two children to attend the elite private school Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, and that she shared this information with prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege in the indictment that the payments for Weisselberg’s grandchildren were “indirect compensation” and were not included on Weisselberg’s W-2 forms, and that no income taxes were withheld by the Trump Organization or Trump Payroll Corp. in connection with the tuition payments. 

“Weisselberg intentionally caused the tuition payments to be omitted from his personal tax returns, despite knowing that those payments represented taxable income and were treated as compensation by the Trump Corporation in internal records,” the indictment stated.

5:52 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Trump reacts to indictment against his company and CFO

Former President Trump just released a statement, casting the indictment against the Trump Organization and its CFO as part of a “political Witch Hunt.”

"The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues. It is dividing our Country like never before!," the statement reads.

More on the charges: New York prosecutors today charged the Trump Organization, Trump Payroll Corporation and its Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg with 15 felony counts in connection with an alleged tax scheme stretching back to 2005, in an extraordinary legal development against the former President's namesake company.

Prosecutors in court said the counts include a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records.

Trump himself was not charged.

CNN's Michael Warren, Erica Orden and Kara Scannell contributed reporting to this post. 

3:41 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Michael Cohen: Allen Weisselberg's head is "on the chopping block"

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to Donald Trump, said Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg's head is "on the chopping block" following indictments filed against him and the company.

"What you're going to find is that Allen Weisselberg is in substantially greater jeopardy than he was last night," Cohen told CNN's Alisyn Camerota.

"That feeling of the handcuffs or shackles or however else they paraded him through, that's real and he knows the reality now a lot greater than he did yesterday," he said.

Cohen who was sentenced to time in federal prison for crimes that included arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump, said that he believes that Weisselberg should be prepared for Trump to eventually stop supporting him.

"What you have right now is Allen Weisselberg's head on the chopping block. Do you think that Donald Trump will protect him? Well, if Allen looks back at what happened to me, the answer is an emphatic no," he said.

Cohen also noted that he believes Trump's "nine lives" are up and that he can no longer avoid accountability.

"I think his nine lives have expired, because the documentary evidence that's in the hands of the prosecutors is so significant and so spot-on that there's no way anybody's getting out of it," Cohen explained.

Watch here:

5:53 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Prosecutors handed electronic storage devices over to defense lawyers

From CNN’s Kara Scannell

Prosecutors handed electronic storage devices over to defense lawyers — one to attorneys for the Trump Organization and the other to a lawyer for chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg’s passport was turned over in person

5:54 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Weisselberg released on his own recognizance and told to turn in his passport

From CNN’s Sonia Moghe

Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO, leaves Manhattan Criminal Court after his arraignment in State Supreme Court on July 01.
Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO, leaves Manhattan Criminal Court after his arraignment in State Supreme Court on July 01. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was released on his own recognizance and told to turn in his passport.

After the hearing, he walked out of the courthouse and into a waiting SUV.

Earlier today: The indictment, which has just been unsealed, charges the Trump Organization, Trump Payroll Corp. and Weisselberg with 15 felony counts in connection with an alleged scheme stretching back to 2005 “to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization in a manner that was ‘off the books.’”

The three are charged with a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, and falsifying business records. 

Weisselberg is also charged with grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing.

3:08 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Prosecutors: Trump Org CFO evaded taxes on $1.7 million on income

From CNN's Erica Orden and Kara Scannell

New York prosecutors on Thursday charged the Trump Organization, Trump Payroll Corporation and its Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg with 15 felony counts in connection with an alleged tax scheme stretching back to 2005, in an extraordinary legal development against the former President's namesake company.

Prosecutors in court said the counts include a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records.

The indictment also alleges Weisselberg evaded $1.76 million in taxes over the period beginning in 2005 and that he concealed for years that he was a resident of New York City, thereby avoiding paying city income taxes.

Weisselberg pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors say they have digital drives with grand jury testimony, bookkeeping records, tax records, statements of potential witnesses.

Weisselberg attempted to conceal his participation in the scheme with the knowledge of the company, prosecutors said.

Read more about today's charges here.

3:10 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

New York attorney general says the "investigation will continue"

Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, center, and Cyrus Vance Jr., New York County District Attorney, right, leave Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, July 1, in New York.
Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, center, and Cyrus Vance Jr., New York County District Attorney, right, leave Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, July 1, in New York. John Minchillo/AP

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement Thursday calling the indictment against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg an, “important marker in the ongoing criminal investigation.”

Her statement reads:

“Today is an important marker in the ongoing criminal investigation of the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg. In the indictment, we allege, among other things, financial wrongdoing whereby the Trump Organization engaged in a scheme with Mr. Weisselberg to avoid paying taxes on certain compensation. This investigation will continue, and we will follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead.”   

The statement says "The charges relate to the alleged failure by Weisselberg to pay New York state and federal income taxes on approximately $1.7 million in compensation. This is part of an ongoing criminal investigation conducted by Attorney General James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr."

2:57 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Read the full indictment charges against the Trump Organization and its CFO

The Manhattan district attorney’s office unsealed charges Thursday against the Trump Organization, its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, and the Trump Payroll Corporation – marking the first criminal case against former President Trump’s company.

Prosecutors in court described a 15-year tax scheme and said the charges include 15 felony counts, including a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records. 

Read the full indictment here:

2:56 p.m. ET, July 1, 2021

Indictment against Trump Org, Allen Weisselberg and Trump Payroll Corp. unsealed

From CNN’s Erica Orden

The indictment, which has just been unsealed, charges the Trump Organization, Trump Payroll Corp. and Allen Weisselberg with 15 felony counts in connection with an alleged scheme stretching back to 2005 “to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization in a manner that was ‘off the books.’”

The three are charged with a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, and falsifying business records. Weisselberg is also charged with grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing.

“The scheme was intended to allow certain employees to substantially understate their compensation from the Trump Organization, so that they could and did pay federal, state and local taxes in amounts that were significantly less than the amounts that should have been paid,” according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges Weisselberg evaded $1.76 million in taxes over the period beginning in 2005 and that he concealed for years that he was a resident of New York City, thereby avoiding paying city income taxes.

Read the documents here: