A Manhattan judge ordered former president Donald Trump’s family business to pay $1.6 million in fines Friday — the maximum allowable for the Trump Organization’s conviction on 17 counts of fraud last month.
Judge Juan Merchan imposed fines on two Trump Org subsidiaries — The Trump Corporation, fined $810,000, and The Trump Payroll Corp., fined $800,000.
The fine is the maximum penalty for the convictions last month allowable under the law.
The companies’ conduct “can only be described as egregious,” Assistant District AttorneyJoshua Steinglass said.
He acknowledged a fine of under $2 million “may have limited impact on a multibillion corporation,” but argued “this court should nonetheless impose such fines.”
“To avoid detection, they simply falsified the records,” he said of Trump Org execs. “A number of these actions were implicitly sanctioned from the top down.”
Prosecutors argued at trial that for 15 years, the Trump Org helped top execs dodge income taxes on off-book benefits including rent, high-end cars and private school tuition.
Jurors heard from Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselburg, who took the stand in the fall as part of a plea deal over his own tax woes. He admitted to accepting over $1.7 million in “off the books” compensation from the company in order to avoid taxes — including a rent-free Manhattan apartment — and pleaded guilty to 15 tax evasion felonies.
Attorneys for the Trump Org unsuccessfully argued that Weisselburg acted alone in his tax-skipping scheme.
The former CFO was sentenced to five months in Rikers on Tuesday.
Defense attorney Susan Necheles said the former president’s companies will be appealing the conviction.
“The DA, as usual, or again, does not understand the tax law,” she said. “And that was part of what was wrong in this case.”
In its own comment, the Trump Org called Weisselberg “a victim” — and slammed prosecutors.
“He was threatened, intimidated and terrorized,” the statement said. “He was given a choice of pleading guilty and serving the rest of his life in jail — all of this over a corporate car and standard employee benefits.”
The statement added both Weisselberg and the former president were targeted by “politically motivated prosecutors” on a “never ending witch-hunt.”
The company asked for 30 days to pay the fine; the judge ordered it to pay in 14 days.
The company’s fine will be barely a dent in the bottom line for an enterprise with a global portfolio of golf courses, hotels and development deals. It could face more trouble outside of court due to the reputational damage, such as difficulty finding new deals and business partners.
The Trump Organization’s conviction and sentencing don’t end Trump’s battle with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has said a related investigation of Trump that began under his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., is ongoing with a newly hired prosecutor.
At the same time, New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Trump and the Trump Organization, alleging they misled banks and others about the value of its many assets, a practice slammed as the “art of the steal.”
James is asking a court to ban Trump and his three eldest children from running any New York-based company and is seeking to fine them at least $250 million. A judge has set an October trial date. As a preliminary measure, he appointed a monitor for the company while the case is pending.