A New York State court determined Friday that the Trump Organization and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, might face criminal fraud and tax evasion charges.
In February, Weisselberg and the corporation sought a court to dismiss all 15 accusations against them. Judge Juan Merchan rejected one of six tax fraud allegations filed against the Trump Organization but upheld the others.
Prosecutors, according to the Trump Organization and Weisselberg, targeted them “based on political animus” against former President Donald Trump. Weisselberg also claimed immunity from criminal prosecution after testifying before a federal grand jury investigating former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
The jury will be chosen on October 24.
Prosecutors said in a May 23 document that the Weisselberg inquiry was prompted by a Nov. 2, 2020 Bloomberg report regarding bonuses allegedly received by Weisselberg.
“Many of the crucial facts related to the offenses accused were stated in the paper,” Manhattan prosecutor Solomon Shinerock wrote in May.
In July 2021, the Trump Organization was accused of offering expensive untaxed incentives to executives, which prosecutors referred to as “indirect employee pay.” Weisselberg, who had worked for Trump for decades, was accused of collecting $1.7 million in benefits, including an apartment and a vehicle.
Weisselberg and his corporation have pleaded not guilty.
They argued in January’s request to dismiss the allegations that the business and Weisselberg were “improperly targeted” because of politics. They emphasized remarks by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who has criticized Trump, a Republican. The Manhattan district attorney’s probe has been assigned to two lawyers from James’ office.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared in court for a deposition in James’ lawsuit, asserting the Fifth Amendment and then responding hundreds of times with “same response.”
Trump’s lawyers had expressed fear that Trump’s deposition may be given over to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Attorneys for James’ office and a court supervising her investigation have said that her detectives are permitted to do so.
Weisselberg’s attorneys also argued in January that the accusations against him should be dropped because he gained immunity from federal prosecution when he appeared before a federal grand jury investigating former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
Shinerock said that no one on his team “had ever seen or been briefed on the details of Weisselberg’s testimony” against Cohen, but that federal immunity does not extend to Weisselberg’s state charges.