Trump Organization In Legal Trouble Over Tax Fraud

Former President Donald Trump's legal woes are mounting as his family company is set to face a criminal trial on tax fraud charges in New York starting next week.

It could lead to fines and also complicate the real estate firm's ability to do business, reported Reuters. In July 2021, the Manhattan district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and its then-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with defrauding tax authorities. It was done by awarding "off the books" benefits to company executives since 2005. It allowed certain employees to understate their taxable compensation and enabled the company to evade payroll taxes.

Weisselberg has worked for Trump for half a century. In August, he pleaded guilty to charges that he concealed $1.76 million in income. As per his plea agreement, he is required to testify at the trial against the Trump Organization. The company, which is run by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate across the globe. Selection of jury is expected to start on Monday in Manhattan state court.

Trump's company could face up to $1.6 million in fines. The firm could be fined for three tax fraud counts and six other counts. The Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp are also charged in the case. Trump has not been charged in the case, but the trial of his company comes as he considers running for U.S. President again in 2024.

Trump faces other investigations by federal and state prosecutors. They include investigations into attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss and government documents' removal from the White House when he left office. He also has the E. Jean Carroll defamation case and the forthcoming sexual assault lawsuit, according to CBS News. The writer had sued Trump for defamation in 2019 after he accused Carroll of lying when she said that he raped her in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers are weighing whether to allow federal agents to return to his Florida residence, and potentially conduct a supervised search. They are thinking about it to satisfy the Department of Justice's demands that all sensitive government documents are returned, sources told CNN.

In court filings and in private discussions with Trump’s team, the DOJ has made clear that it believes Trump failed to comply with a May subpoena. It ordered the return of all documents that are marked as classified and that more government records remain missing.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized nearly 22,000 pages when they executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August. So some in Trump’s inner circle aren’t convinced that there are any remaining government documents.