Tag: Trump tax fraud

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.

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.

Trump’s taxes in hand, Manhattan DA’s probe heats up

NEW YORK — With former President Donald Trump’s tax returns finally in hand, a team of New York prosecutors led by a newly hired former mob-buster is sending out fresh subpoenas and meeting face-to-face with key witnesses, scrutinizing Trump’s business practices in granular detail.

Amid the swirl of activity, the Manhattan district attorney’s office is scheduled Friday to meet again with Trump’s longtime former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

It would be the eighth time he has spoken with investigators working for District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., dating to Cohen’s time in federal prison for tax evasion and campaign finance violations. Continue reading.

Trump’s CFO’s ex-daughter-in-law is cooperating with prosecutors and ‘refuses to be silenced,’ her lawyer says

An attorney representing the former daughter-in-law of the Trump Organization’s CFO, Allen Weisselberg, says she’s cooperating with prosecutors conducting an inquiry into Donald Trump’s finances and “refuses to be silenced.”

Jennifer Weisselberg “is committed to speaking the truth, no matter how difficult that may be,” her attorney, Duncan Levin, told Insider in a statement. “She will continue to cooperate fully with the various law-enforcement agencies that are investigating her ex-husband’s family and the very powerful interests they represent.”

“Jennifer refuses to be silenced any longer by those who are conspiring to prevent her from sharing what she has learned over the past 25 years,” Levin added. Continue reading.

Manhattan DA Subpoenas Lender For Trump’s Chicago Skyscraper In Expanding Probe

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The Manhattan district attorney subpoenaed documents late last year from a big-money investor that loaned Donald Trump’s company money to build a skyscraper in Chicago — a sign that the DA is continuing to expand his financial fraud investigation into the ex-president, according to a report Monday.

Sources told CNN that District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. slapped Fortress Investment Group with a grand jury subpoena relating to the $130 million it provided to the Trump Organization for the construction of the Windy City’s Trump International Hotel and Tower, which was completed in 2009.

Vance and Fortress declined to comment on the specifics of the subpoena, but the sizable Chicago loan is one of many Trump transactions shrouded in mystery. Continue reading.

Claimed value of sleepy NY estate could come to haunt Trump

NEW YORK — It’s sleepy by Donald Trump’s standards, but the former president’s century-old estate in New York’s Westchester County could end up being one of his bigger legal nightmares.

Seven Springs, a 213-acre swath of nature surrounding a Georgian-style mansion, is a subject of two state investigations: a criminal probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and a civil inquiry by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Both investigations focus on whether Trump manipulated the property’s value to reap greater tax benefits from an environmental conservation arrangement he made at the end of 2015, while running for president. Continue reading.

Manhattan DA issues key new subpoena as it investigates Donald Trump: report

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The investigation into former President Donald Trump continues to move forward, according to an exclusive new report by Reuters.

“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has subpoenaed a New York City property tax agency as part of a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s company, the agency confirmed on Friday, suggesting prosecutors are examining the former president’s efforts to reduce his commercial real-estate taxes for possible evidence of fraud,” Reuters reported.

“The subpoena is the latest indication that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. is looking at the values Trump assigned to several commercial properties in tax filings and loan documents,” Reuters reported. “Along with information already subpoenaed from creditors, the tax agency documents would help investigators determine whether Trump’s business inflated the value of his properties to secure favorable terms on loans while deflating those values to lower tax bills for those same properties.” Continue reading.

Exclusive: New York City tax agency subpoenaed in Trump criminal probe

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The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has subpoenaed a New York City property tax agency as part of a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s company, the agency confirmed on Friday, suggesting prosecutors are examining the former president’s efforts to reduce his commercial real-estate taxes for possible evidence of fraud.

The subpoena issued to the New York City Tax Commission is the latest indication that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. is looking at the values Trump assigned to some commercial properties in tax filings and loan documents.

Along with information already subpoenaed from creditors, the tax agency documents would help investigators determine whether Trump’s business inflated the value of his properties to secure favorable terms on loans while deflating those values to lower tax bills for those same properties. Continue reading.

Trump Tax Write-Offs Are Ensnared in 2 New York Fraud Investigations

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Inquiries into the president and his businesses, one criminal and one civil, are now looking at tax deductions taken on consulting fees. Some of the payments appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump.

Two separate New York State fraud investigations into President Trump and his businesses, one criminal and one civil, have expanded to include tax write-offs on millions of dollars in consulting fees, some of which appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The inquiries — a criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., and a civil one by the state attorney general, Letitia James — are being conducted independently. But both offices issued subpoenas to the Trump Organization in recent weeks for records related to the fees, the people said.

The subpoenas were the latest steps in the two investigations of the Trump Organization, and underscore the legal challenges awaiting the president when he leaves office in January. There is no indication that his daughter is a focus of either inquiry, which the Trump Organization has derided as politically motivated. Continue reading.