'tax-related crimes'
Manhattan D.A. expected to bring first criminal charges against Trump Org on Thursday
The Trump Organization and its Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg are expected to be charged with "tax-related crimes" on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reports. These are the first criminal charges against former President Donald Trump's company since investigations began three years ago, the Journal writes.
Both the company and Weisselberg will likely face charges related to "allegedly evading taxes on fringe benefits," sources told the Journal. The Manhattan district attorney's office and the New York state attorney general's office have been investigating for months whether Trump Organization employees, including Weisselberg, "illegally avoided paying taxes" on perks like apartments and private-school tuition that they received from the company, the Journal reports. Trump himself is not expected to be charged and has denied wrongdoing. Earlier this week, he asserted that the case rests on "things that are standard practice throughout the U.S. business community, and in no way a crime."
The defendants are expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon, sources told the Journal. Weisselberg — who prosecutors have been pressuring to cooperate — and his lawyers have yet to comment.
The investigation is part of "a broader criminal probe into whether the Trump Organization and its officers overvalued and undervalued its assets on loan, tax and insurance documents for financial gain," the Journal previously reported. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.