Tag: Trump bank fraud

Trump exec Weisselberg pleads not guilty to fraud, conspiracy charges

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New York City prosecutors on Thursday charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with various fraud and conspiracy charges.

Weisselberg, who turned himself in earlier Thursday morning, pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges, which include tax fraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records. He and the Trump Organization have denied wrongdoing.

In an indictment that was unsealed Thursday afternoon, prosecutors alleged that Weisselberg helped orchestrate a scheme to compensate himself and “other Trump Organization executives” with unreported income. Continue reading.

The Memo: Trump faces legal and political peril

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Former President Trump’s attempts to remain politically powerful and position himself as a viable 2024 candidate could hit a big hurdle.

Prosecutors in New York look to be on the brink of leveling criminal charges against the Trump Organization, according to recent reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Much remains unclear — and it is still technically possible that no charges will be brought, even though Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. (D) empaneled a new grand jury in May. But if charges are leveled, they will deal a heavy blow to the former president regardless of whether he is himself accused. Continue reading.

Trump and his CFO Allen Weisselberg stay close as prosecutors advance their case

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Trump and his CFO Allen Weisselberg stay close as prosecutors advance their case

NEW YORK — If Donald Trump was looking for some good news on his 75th birthday last Monday, it arrived at 8:15 a.m. by way of a blue Mercedes slipping into Trump Tower’s private garage entrance on West 56th Street.

Behind the wheel was Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s longtime confidant and Trump Organization chief financial officer, whom the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has pressed to turn on the former president as they investigate Trump’s business dealings.

Every day that Weisselberg arrives for work at Trump Tower — as he did that day, steering in from his Upper West Side apartment across town — could be seen as a public signal that he is sticking with Trump and deflecting investigators’ advances. Continue reading.

Mary Trump Predicts How Donald Trump Will Throw His Children Under The Bus

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And the ex-president’s niece is “fairly sure” her cousins will flip on their father.

Mary Trump doesn’t doubt that her uncle, ex-President Donald Trump, will sacrifice his own children to save himself from potential prosecution.

On Monday, CNN’s Chris Cuomo asked Mary Trump if her uncle would “take one for his kids” if they were targeted by prosecutors. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump work for the Trump Organization, which is under criminal investigation by authorities in New York.

“No, he wouldn’t,” responded the former president’s niece, a vocal critic of her relative. Continue reading.

Trump Org controller has already testified before Manhattan DA’s special grand jury: report

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The controller, a senior vice president of the Trump Organization has testified before the special grand jury empaneled to weigh evidence in the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into Donald Trump, his company, and its employees.

Jeff McConney, whose LinkedIn profile says he has worked at the Trump Organization for 34 years, and is considered to be one of its senior-most executives. As controller, he would have very specific knowledge of the company’s finances.

ABC News, citing sources, reports McConey is the first Trump Organization to testify before the grand jury, and says, “his testimony is a sign that prosecutors have burrowed deep into the company’s finances.” Continue reading.

Prosecutor in Trump criminal probe convenes grand jury to hear evidence, weigh potential charges

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NEW YORK — Manhattan’s district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former president Donald Trump, other executives at his company or the business itself, should prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges, according to two people familiar with the development.

The panel was convened recently and will sit three days a week for six months. It is likely to hear several matters — not just the Trump case ­— during its term, which is longer than a traditional New York state grand-jury assignment, these people said. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Generally, special grand juries such as this are convened to participate in long-term matters rather than to hear evidence of crimes charged routinely.

The move indicates that District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.’s investigation of the former president and his business has reached an advanced stage after more than two years. It suggests, too, that Vance thinks he has found evidence of a crime — if not by Trump, by someone potentially close to him or by his company. Continue reading.

Trump executive’s son was given sizable salary, generous perks, documents show

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NEW YORK — Former president Donald Trump’s company paid a skating rink manager more than $200,000 in annual salary, $40,000 yearlybonuses and provided free company-owned apartments for his family, according to testimony of the employee, Barry Weisselberg, and his financial documents.

Such payments and perks, as well as other financial support provided to Weisselberg and his family, have drawn new scrutiny from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (D) as a potentially key component of his ongoing criminal investigation into the former president’s business activity and finances.

Barry Weisselberg is the son of Trump’s longtime confidant and chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, whose cooperation prosecutors are maneuvering to secure, a person familiar with the investigation said, as they evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence to charge Trump, or members of his family or inner circle. Like others, this person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Continue reading.

Manhattan DA takes financial records from Trump CFO’s former daughter-in-law

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Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday seized several boxes and a laptop computer’s worth of financial records as part of their ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump’s financial dealings, the Washington Post reports. 

Why it matters: The materials come from Jennifer Weisselberg, who is closely connected to the Trump Organization. She is the ex-wife of employee Barry Weisselberg and the former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer as well as its most senior serving non-family member. 

  • The move highlights how deep the investigation aims to go.

Details: Jennifer Weisselberg is cooperating in the investigation and was complying with a grand jury subpoena that asked her to turn over all financial records connected to the Trump Organization and Wollman Rink, an ice rink in Central Park that Barry Weisselberg managed for the Trump Organization, per the Post. Continue reading.

Former Mueller deputy explains how Trump could get nailed in Manhattan DA investigation

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In an interview with New York Magazine this Thursday, the former deputy to Robert Mueller during the probe into Donald Trump’s alleged ties with Russia, Andrew Weissmann, talked about the legacy of the Mueller investigation and the current investigations of Trump’s businesses.

Weissman, a former federal prosecutor, was asked by NY Mag’s Ankush Khardori what he thinks the odds are that anyone ends up criminally prosecuting Trump.

“If it’s going to happen, it’ll be in Manhattan,” Weissmann said. “That seems like the one that has the most legs. But you and I both know, it’s really hard. I’ve been on the inside and listened to people on the outside. It’s really hard unless you’re inside to know whether they’re really going to be able to make the case.” Continue reading.

N.Y. Seeks Trump Insider’s Records, in Apparent Bid to Gain Cooperation

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State prosecutors in Manhattan subpoenaed the personal bank records of the Trump Organization’s longtime C.F.O. and are scrutinizing gifts he received from the former president.

State prosecutors in Manhattan investigating former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization have subpoenaed the personal bank records of the company’s chief financial officer and are questioning gifts he and his family received from Mr. Trump, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

In recent weeks, the prosecutors have trained their focus on the executive, Allen H. Weisselberg, in what appears to be a determined effort to gain his cooperation. Mr. Weisselberg, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, has overseen the Trump Organization’s finances for decades and may hold the key to any possible criminal case in New York against the former president and his family business.

Prosecutors working for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., are examining, among other things, whether Mr. Trump and the company falsely manipulated property values to obtain loans and tax benefits. Continue reading.