Trump Organization fined $1.6M in tax fraud case

The Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million for its conviction over tax fraud and related charges.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the penalty from State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, which amounted to the maximum allowable under the law.

A jury last month found two entities of the firm guilty of 17 criminal counts, including tax fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records. It was the first conviction against one of Trump’s companies.

The penalty was imposed only days after former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in jail and forced to pay back more than $2 million for his role in the scheme. Weisselberg will serve his sentence at Rikers Island.

Bragg in a statement noted the importance of the sentencing in the ongoing investigation into Donald Trump and his business. Bragg also called for state law to change “so that we can impose more significant penalties and sanctions on corporations that commit crimes.”

The company’s lawyers wanted a lesser penalty, arguing Friday morning that blame belonged to outside accounting firm Mazars USA for failing to stop the wrongdoing, the New York Times reported. The lawyers also blamed Weisselberg. Both arguments did little to sway the judge.

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The company plans to appeal the conviction. The former president is still facing civil and criminal investigations, including a probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James over alleged inflated valuations of his properties to the Justice Department’s appointment of a special counsel over classified documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

The DA’s case against the Trump entities alleged they avoided taxes through various means, including providing benefits for executives in place of taxable salaries and paying employees as “independent contractors.” Perks allegedly included private school tuition, a lease on a Mercedes for Weisselberg and covering the rent of his Manhattan apartment.

Trump has not publicly commented on the firm’s sentencing.