Donald Trump's company found guilty of tax fraud

A jury found two corporate entities at the Trump Organization guilty on all 17 counts including conspiracy and falsifying financial documents International

New York, Dec 07: In a lawsuit initiated by the Manhattan District Attorney on Tuesday, Donald Trump's company was found guilty of tax fraud, which represents a rejection of the former President's corporate financial policies.

Two corporate organisations affiliated with the Trump Organization were found guilty on all 17 counts, including conspiracy and falsifying financial documents, by a jury, according to a report by Business Standard quoting AP.

The decision was reached on the second day of deliberations following a trial in which the Trump Organization was accused of participating in a plan by senior employees to avoid paying personal income taxes on work benefits such as rent-free residences and expensive automobiles.

The verdict validates New York prosecutors' three-year investigation of the former president and his enterprises. The fines aren't believed to be severe enough to imperil the company's future.

As punishment, the Trump Organization could be fined up to USD 1.6 million, a relatively small amount for a company of its size. Though the conviction might make some of its future deals more complicated, the news agency reported.

Meanwhile, former US president Trump reacting to this said that the case against his company was a politically motivated witchhunt waged against him by vindictive Democrats. It is to be noted that Trump has recently announced that he was running for the US presidential election again.

Trump himself was not on trial, though the prosecutors alleged that Trump knew exactly what was going on with the scheme, though he and the company's lawyers have denied the allegations.

The testimony of Allen Weisselberg, the former finance director of the Trump Organization, who had previously pleaded guilty to charges that he had manipulated the company's books and his own compensation package to illegally reduce his taxes, served as the foundation of the prosecution's case against the business.

Weisselberg testified in exchange for a promised five-month jail sentence.

Prosecutors had to persuade juries that Weisselberg or his subordinate, Senior Vice President and Controller Jeffrey McConney, were high management agents operating on the firm's behalf and that the corporation also benefitted from his fraud in order to convict the Trump Organization.