New York prosecutors suing Trump Organization insiders

Authors: Joseph Tanfani and Peter Eisler

Washington (Reuters)-According to people involved, the New York prosecutors investigating former US President Donald Trump’s business practices may bring one or more criminal prosecutions this week, but they will not target Trump himself.

Ronald Fischetti, the lawyer representing Trump, said on Monday that based on discussions with prosecutors, he expects Trump to “not face any charges” in the first round of prosecution. Others familiar with the case said that prosecutors are preparing to file criminal charges against Alan Weisselberg, the long-term chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and are considering criminal charges against the company.

After nearly three years of investigations into Trump’s real estate transactions, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr’s preliminary allegations will mainly focus on whether Wesselberg and other company officials Received company allowances and benefits, such as rent-free apartments and rental cars, and according to several people familiar with the investigation, they did not report their tax returns correctly.The exact allegations that the prosecutor is preparing are unclear

The indictment will be the first investigation against a senior Trump company official, marking a critical shift from investigation to prosecution.

Prosecutors have been urging the 73-year-old Wesselberg to cooperate with their investigation and provide testimony, but so far have not succeeded. Prosecution will increase this pressure. Wesselberg is one of Trump’s closest confidants, and he has been working for the company since it was run by Trump’s father Fred in 1973.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James also joined the investigation. Spokespersons for Manhattan and the state attorney’s office declined to comment. A lawyer for Weisselberg also declined to comment.

Trump’s lawyer Fischerti said the case was “embarrassing” and unfounded.

“In my more than 50 years of practice, I have never seen the District Attorney’s Office target company employee compensation or fringe benefits, such as company cars or apartments, to a company,” Fischer, a long-time white-collar criminal lawyer Di said.

“They said their investigation is still going on, but for all of them, this is a fairly superficial prosecution,” he said.

Trump issued a statement late on Monday evening, criticizing prosecutors for being “rude, indecent and totally biased” and that his company’s actions were “in no way a crime.”

Trump said: “They continue to’look for crimes’ and will at all costs intimidate people to make up stories or lies they want, but they are completely unable to get them.”

Expect to charge more

An extensive criminal investigation examined a series of potential misconduct, including whether Trump’s namesake real estate company manipulated the value of its property to reduce its tax burden and obtain more favorable loans from creditors. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and repairman, testified to Congress that this practice is common in companies. He has talked with prosecutors many times.

People familiar with the matter said that more charges may be brought against the company or its executives in the coming weeks.

Since last fall, prosecutors have become increasingly concerned about the company’s use of allowances and benefits as a form of compensation to company officials. Jennifer Weisselberg, the ex-wife of Allen Weisselberg’s son Barry, met with the prosecutor six times, the most recent being 10 days ago. Her lawyer said that she provided boxes of tax and bank records and financial statements.

Barry Weisselberg also worked for the Trump Organization, helping to manage two ice rinks and a merry-go-round in Central Park, New York, all of which are operated by the company under a contract with New York City. These contracts have been terminated.

“Jennifer Wesselberg continued to provide prosecutors with a wide range of documents and testimony, and appeared there in first-hand conversations about fringe benefits and other matters, and relayed the conversation to prosecutors she knew,” Her lawyer Duncan Levine told Reuters.

Court documents, public records, and documents subpoenaed in the investigation show that Allen and Barry Wesselberg received corporate benefits and gifts that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars during the Trump Organization’s years. If they fail to properly account for the money in their tax returns and other financial documents, it may put them in legal danger.

Many of the benefits for Weisselbergs are related to real estate.

In 2005, Barry married and moved into a unit in a Trump-owned building overlooking Central Park. In testimony related to his divorce in 2018, Barry stated that he and his wife had not paid rent for more than five years of living there. The couple’s tax returns, subpoenaed by the district attorney and reviewed by Reuters, do not seem to take the free rent into consideration as compensation or gifts.

Real estate data shows that at the time, the rent for similar units was thousands of dollars a month, which made the couple’s residence value about 200,000 dollars higher.

Court records show that after Barry’s divorce, he once again moved into Trump’s apartment, where he was also rent-free. Barry Weisselberg’s lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.

During their marriage, Barry and Jennifer Weisselberg enjoyed other gifts and benefits from his father, which raised questions about whether some of these benefits might also come from the Trump Organization.

When asked in his 2018 testimony whether he believed the money was a gift, Barry said he regarded the money as “financial aid.” When asked whether former President Trump would eventually bear any of these or other expenses for the couple, Barry said, “I don’t know.”