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- Trump has been connected to the Trump Org. first-time tax investigation, according to The Daily Beast.
- A witness reportedly told investigators that Trump had previously offered to personally guarantee benefits instead of taxable wages.
- Trump has yet to be charged by the Manhattan district attorney.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
A witness who cooperated with the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into the Trump Organization told prosecutors that former President Donald Trump personally offered to pay benefits instead of taxable income, The Daily Beast reported. citing sources who overheard the conversation.
The revelation could bolster any charges prosecutors make against Trump himself in a case in which his company and longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg have already been indicted.
Manhattan prosecutors are now investigating whether leaders of the Trump Organization illegally collected benefits without paying taxes on them and whether the company engaged in tax and financial evasion.
Weisselberg was accused of participating in a program of corporate gifts instead of higher wages, thus avoiding paying a portion of taxes for both the company and its employees, according to an indictment in 15 counts announced earlier this month.
Two anonymous sources told the Daily Beast that they overheard a June 25 interview between investigators and witness Jennifer Weisselberg, who is Allen Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law, in which she said Trump personally guarantees one of these advantages. The outlet did not say how the sources related to the investigation. Jennifer Weisselberg’s attorney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
The deal was struck in January 2012 at a meeting at Trump Tower that included Trump, Jennifer Weisselberg, then-husband Barry, and Allen Weisselberg, The Daily Beast reported. Barry Weisselberg is also an employee of the Trump Organization.
Jennifer Weisselberg reportedly told prosecutors Trump said he would pay for her and the education of Barry’s children instead of giving Barry a raise, according to the report.
According to The Daily Beast, Jennifer Weisselberg told prosecutors that at some point in the 2012 meeting, Trump turned to her and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.”
Investigators also asked Weisselberg, who is in the midst of an ongoing litigation stemming from his divorce in 2018, if Trump was personally involved in the alleged scheme. Weisselberg said he was, sources told the Daily Beast.
The Manhattan DA office indicted the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg earlier this month with 15 counts, including a fraud scheme, conspiracy, robbery, tax evasion and falsifying business records.
Although Trump has not been criminally charged, prosecutors have mentioned him several times in court and in the 25-page indictment. The indictment document stated that Trump personally signed the tuition checks for Allen Weisselberg’s family members.
Specifically, from 2012 to 2017, “Trump Corporation staff, including Weisselberg, arranged for the tuition fees of Weisselberg’s family members to be paid by personal checks drawn on the account and signed by Donald J. Trump, then drawn on the account of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, dated April 7, 2017, “the indictment reads.
Prosecutors said Weisselberg “intentionally” omitted tuition payments from his personal tax returns, even though he knew the payments “represented taxable income and were being treated as compensation by the Trump Corporation on file. internal “.
Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Trump called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
This month’s indictment represents the first charges emerging from the Manhattan district attorney’s three-year investigation into Trump’s business relationship. But prosecutors said the investigation was still ongoing, and legal experts told Insider the charges may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Trump.
“It will not be lost on Trump’s lawyers that the government has shown with this indictment how quickly they were able to put together what appears to be a very strong case, given how short they have had Trump. and his business records, “said Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor who was part of the team that convicted Gambino crime boss John Gotti.
Investigators could also lay charges against other Trump Organization employees, many of whom prosecutors say received the same type of untaxed benefits as Weisselberg.
“As prosecutors review this evidence and threaten other company executives, they may not all be guys in their 60s,” like Allen Weisselberg, Cotter said. “They might be in their prime and they’ll think about how they could go to jail for five, six, seven years if they get the wrong judge. These are the guys who can be over. motivation to cooperate. “
Alan Futerfas, the attorney for the Trump Organization, did not comment on the Daily Beast. Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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