The Trump Organization was sentenced to pay $1.6 million in fines and penalties to the state on Friday — the maximum allowed by law — after its conviction on tax crimes carried out by two of its longtime executives. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office argued for the top possible financial punishment for the former president’s private company, describing egregious and deliberate long-term conduct that both benefited former president Trump’s namesake company and the executives involved in the cheating, reports the Washington Post. “The sheer magnitude of this fraud merits the largest financial sanction authorized by law,” Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass argued at the sentencing.
Longtime Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg was the star witness against his company. He pleaded guilty to 15 felonies and agreed to testify in exchange for a significantly reduced sentence of five months in jail and five years probation. He paid the state more than $2 million in back taxes, fines and interest. Lawyers for the company disputed the top amount of monetary penalties allowed and that said it will appeal the conviction.