Trump Org Found Guilty in Tax Evasion Trial

The Trump Organization, the business owned by former president Donald Trump, was found guilty of tax fraud on Tuesday. The Trump Organization was found guilty of all counts by a New York jury on Tuesday in connection with a massive, 15-year tax fraud conspiracy, which the prosecution claimed was conducted by the company's senior executives..According to The New York Times, a jury found that two companies operating under the Trump Organization umbrella planned to dodge taxes by paying some of its top executives through gifts and benefits that were deducted from their pay. The presents, which included expensive cars and apartment leases, were given in order to avoid paying a more substantial income tax..Two Trump Organization enterprises, the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation were the subjects of the trial. The former was accused of eight charges, while the latter was accused of nine. Both of the entities, who were defended by different legal teams, were found guilty on all charges..Lawyers representing the defense of The Trump Organization attributed the blame to Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, for a series of tax-free gifts given to some executives. In August, Weisselberg admitted guilt to accusations of tax fraud, grand larceny, and other offenses. Because Weisselberg volunteered to testify for the prosecution, the defense team was forced to reorganize their strategy..The Manhattan district attorney's office spent several years looking into the financial operations of the Trump Organization, which led to the indictment of both the organization and Allen Weisselberg last year.