Trump organization is found guilty in tax fraud case

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s company has been found guilty in tax fraud case.

Trump’s family real estate business was convicted of tax fraud and other related financial crimes on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

The Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp. were found guilty of all charges, according to CNN.

The company faced a total of 17 counts and was found guilty in all of them after more than a day of jury deliberations, according to the NYT. The company reportedly gave some executives “off-the-books” perks including fancy apartments, leased Mercedes-Benzes, private school tuition for relatives and more that no taxes were paid on.

The guilty verdict is a validation for prosecutors in New York who have spent about three years investigating the former president and his businesses according to The Associated Press.

The Trump Organization will be facing a financial punishment of $1.62 million according to the NYT.

The AP said that the financial punishment amount is relatively small for the size of the company but it does make future deals a little more complicated.

Trump was not on trial himself but according to the AP, prosecutors claimed that he was aware of what was happening. Trump and his lawyers reportedly have all denied that claim..

Trump Organization’s former finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, testified in exchange for a five-month jail sentence. According to the AP, he previously pleaded guilty to manipulating the company’s books and his personal compensation package in order to reduce his taxes, which was illegal.