The highest penalties that may be levied against the former president’s family firm following the Trump Organization’s conviction on 17 counts of fraud last month was $1.6 million, according to a Manhattan judge’s judgment on Friday.
The Trump Corporation and The Trump Payroll Corp each received fines of $810,000 and $800,000, respectively, from Judge Juan Merchan.
The fine is the harshest punishment the law allows for the convictions from last month.
The actions of the firms may only be characterized as outrageous, according to Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass.
He conceded that a $2 million fine might not have much of an effect on a multibillion dollar firm, but insisted that “this court should nonetheless impose such fines.”
At trial, the prosecution said that for a period of 15 years, the Trump Organization assisted senior executives in avoiding paying income taxes on advantages such as rent, expensive automobiles, and private school tuition.
Allen Weisselburg, the CFO of the Trump Organization, testified in front of the jury as part of a plea agreement related to his own tax problems in the autumn. He pleaded guilty to 15 tax evasion offenses and admitted to collecting over $1.7 million in off-the-books remuneration from the corporation in order to evade taxes, including a rent-free Manhattan apartment.
The Trump Organization’s legal team unsuccessfully contended that Weisselburg operated his tax-skipping plan on his own.
On Tuesday, the former CFO received a sentence of five months in Rikers.
The former president’s corporations, according to defense counsel Susan Necheles, will appeal the conviction.
A corporation with a diverse portfolio of golf courses, hotels, and development deals will scarcely notice the fine on its bottom line. Due to the reputational harm, it might have additional difficulties obtaining new business partners and deals outside of court.
Trump’s conflict with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not resolved by the conviction and sentence of the Trump Organization; Bragg has stated that a related investigation of Trump, which started under his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., is still underway with a newly appointed prosecutor.
