The Manhattan district attorney’s office is expected to file criminal charges on Thursday against former President Donald Trump’s business and one of its top executives for tax-related crimes.
“The charges [are] against the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, the company’s longtime chief financial officer,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “Mr. Trump himself isn’t expected to be charged, his lawyer said. Mr. Weisselberg has rejected prosecutors’ attempts at gaining his cooperation, according to people familiar with the matter.”
The charges against the Trump Organization and Weisselberg are reportedly related to allegations that they evaded taxes on fringe benefits.
“For months, the Manhattan district attorney’s office and New York state attorney general’s office have been investigating whether Mr. Weisselberg and other employees illegally avoided paying taxes on perks—such as cars, apartments and private-school tuition—that they received from the Trump Organization,” the report added. “If prosecutors could show the Trump Organization and its executives systematically avoided paying taxes, they could file more serious charges alleging a scheme.”
The forthcoming charges are part of an investigation by state and local prosecutors into whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and insurance companies about the value of properties and whether it paid the right amount of taxes.
“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the Organization is no longer purely civil in nature,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement last month. “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA. We have no additional comment.”
A week after the announcement, The Washington Post reported that the district attorney’s office had convened a grand jury to consider bringing charges in the case.
This report has been updated to include additional information.