It seems like the dark cloud hovering over the former United States of the American president is deepening its clutch on him, as his organization is now heading to court with criminal charges. Yet, it still feels like yesterday when he was dethroned by the current US president, Joe Biden, accused of stealing the election from him. After that, he launched several lawsuits, which the courts quickly dismissed as it was noted that his arguments were baseless and lacked concrete, tangible evidence.
The allegations being leveled against Trump’s organization can lead to bankruptcy; hence it is a serious issue on his part. In addition, US state prosecutors are considering filing criminal charges against Trump’s family business, and these charges will be financially devastating for the businessman. The charges laid against the organization are linked ‘to the taxation of lucrative perks that it gave to top executives’ [Source]. This included the use of cars, apartments, school tuition, among other luxurious things.
The charges will not be explicitly laid on Trump but his organization’s reputation. This might kill the company’s relations with its counterparts and banks. Trump’s strength was solely based on his money; hence, he might even lose his political grip if these charges go through. The organization’s lawyer Ron Fischetti had a virtual meeting with the prosecutors last week on Thursday. He planned to try and persuade them not to pursue this matter of laying charges against the organization, and it is reported that the meeting lasted for about 90 minutes. According to Mr. Fischetti, the charges are rooted in falsehoods and are outrageous. He also noted that they would plead not guilty and make a motion in court to dismiss. People are just trying to get back at Trump for some personal vendettas; hence they have sought to destroy him through the US courts, as argued by Fischetti [Source].
The company legal team, which Mr. Fischetti and his colleagues head, were given a period of time to come forward with their arguments against the charges laid, as reported in a Washington Post statement. The root of the investigation was set by Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney who focused on two women during Trump’s campaign trail. The two women had aired out that they had sexual encounters with Mr. Trump, but he denied all those claims and argued that his political competitors and enemies propelled such lies.
The investigation has now shifted to Allen Weisselberg. He is a 73 aged man who has been the company’s financial officer for a long time. His son Barry caught the attention of the prosecutors after he had been seen enjoying a lot of luxurious benefits without even losing a cent. The prosecutors believe that he lived in Mr. Trump’s apartment for free, and cars were being leased for the whole family. At the same time, tuition was paid to education institutions attended by Weisselberg’s grandchildren.
According to the figures reported by the investigators, all the ‘benefits’ amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and failing to account for tax returns or filing of all these finances might drown Weisselberg in the criminal courts. In relation to this matter, Fischetti argued that these were ‘fringe benefits’; hence no one should be convicted because of them. Fringe benefits are the job-related benefits that one is given according to holding a job or a certain office in an organization. Thus, a person is entitled to have them because it is normal and expected in many business entities to get company cars and houses and have their children’s education sponsored.
New York attorney general Letitia James is also investigating Trump’s business for inflating the values of certain properties to get better loans and then lower the value to get property tax breaks. Trump is also facing another lawsuit from the District of Columbia attorney general’s office accusing his organization and the inaugural committee of misusing more than $1 million for event space at Trump hotel in Washington. This happened during Trump’s inauguration in January 2017. The former president is getting jabs from all sides, and the jabs are coming from prominent political and government figures. If his company is found guilty of any of these charges, then Trump is bound to lose all credibility and integrity among his business counterparts [Source].
In reaction to these charges, Trump released a statement on Monday claiming that the Democrats were engineering them as a “witch hunt” for him and the Make America Great Against movement. He argued that the Democrats want to stop the movement and destroy him before making a huge comeback into the political arena in the following years.
If his company is found guilty of these charges, Trump’s career as a businessman and politician will be under threat of being dissolved. Hence only time will tell if Donald Trump will wiggle his way out of this hole that the government officials are determined to bury him in.
