Trump Organization Tax Fraud Case

Last updated: 21 November 2025

Status: Two Trump Organization entities were convicted on 17 counts of tax fraud and related crimes in 2022. Former CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty in 2022 and later admitted perjury in 2024 in connection with his testimony in the separate New York civil fraud matter.

Summary

The Trump Organization tax fraud case involved a long-running compensation scheme in which senior executives received substantial off-the-books benefits. Prosecutors said that, for more than a decade, the company paid for items such as apartments, car leases, and private-school tuition without properly reporting them as income, reducing payroll tax obligations and misrepresenting internal records.

In July 2021, the Manhattan District Attorney indicted two Trump Organization entities and longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg on charges including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, and falsifying business records. Weisselberg was accused personally of grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August 2022 to 15 felonies, agreed to testify, and committed to paying back taxes, penalties, and interest. A jury trial later that year ended with convictions of both corporate defendants on all 17 counts, marking the first criminal conviction of any Trump business. The court imposed the maximum fines allowed by New York law, and Weisselberg served a short jail term at Rikers Island.

In 2024, Weisselberg again pleaded guilty, this time to perjury related to false statements about Donald Trump’s financial statements during the separate New York civil fraud proceedings. He received a further five-month sentence. This later plea highlighted the limits of relying solely on executive testimony and reinforced the central importance of documentary evidence across the overlapping Trump investigations.

Background

Prosecutors alleged that from about 2005 through 2021, the Trump Organization operated an informal system of off-the-books compensation for select executives. Perks mentioned in charging documents and trial evidence included rent-free or subsidised apartments, luxury car leases, and private-school tuition for family members, along with cash bonuses characterised as payments to independent contractors rather than employees.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney, these practices allowed the company and executives to reduce reported wages and thereby evade federal, state, and city income and payroll taxes over a 15-year period. Weisselberg, who had worked with Donald Trump for decades and rose to become CFO, was described as a central architect and beneficiary of the scheme.

The indictment did not charge Donald Trump personally. However, the case framed the Trump Organization as a corporate defendant and emphasised that the alleged tax fraud was not a single episode but a pattern embedded in routine compensation practices.

Indictments and Weisselberg plea

On 1 July 2021, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced an indictment against The Trump Corporation, Trump Payroll Corp., and Allen Weisselberg. The charges included scheme to defraud, conspiracy, multiple counts of criminal tax fraud, and falsifying business records, with Weisselberg additionally charged with grand larceny.

On 18 August 2022, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 counts against him. Under the plea agreement, he admitted that the company’s practices were criminal, agreed to pay nearly two million dollars in back taxes and related charges, and committed to testify truthfully at the forthcoming trial of the corporate entities. In exchange, prosecutors recommended a sentence of five months in jail.

Weisselberg’s plea directly implicated the Trump Organization in the scheme, but he did not accuse Donald Trump personally of directing the misconduct. Defence arguments later emphasised this distinction, framing the fraud as a personal enrichment scheme rather than an institutional policy.

Trial and conviction

The criminal case against the two corporate entities went to trial in late 2022 before Justice Juan Merchan in New York Supreme Court. Weisselberg testified as the prosecution’s key witness, describing how the company structured benefits and how certain expenses were booked. Prosecutors combined his testimony with extensive documentation, including payroll records, internal spreadsheets, and lease agreements.

The defence argued that Weisselberg had acted primarily for his own benefit and that any wrongdoing should not be attributed to the corporations. They contended that Trump himself was not aware of the details of the tax treatment of the perks. Prosecutors responded that the scheme depended on company practices and accounting decisions, not just Weisselberg’s individual choices.

On 6 December 2022, after roughly a day of deliberations, the jury convicted both The Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp. on all 17 counts. Those counts included scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud in the third and fourth degrees, and falsifying business records. The verdict confirmed that the jury viewed the conduct as institutional, not merely personal.

Sentencing and corporate penalties

Under New York law, the maximum financial penalty for the corporate defendants was limited to approximately 1.61 million dollars, a relatively small sum compared with the scale of the Trump Organization’s overall operations but still the statutory ceiling for this type of case.

On 13 January 2023, Justice Merchan imposed that maximum fine, emphasising the duration of the scheme and the need for deterrence. In separate proceedings, Weisselberg was sentenced in line with his plea agreement to a five-month term at Rikers Island and served around 100 days before release in April 2023.

Although the monetary penalty was modest, prosecutors and some commentators characterised the conviction as significant because it created a criminal record for entities at the core of Trump’s business operations. For banks, insurers, and regulators, the conviction added a formal finding of criminal misconduct to the company’s risk profile.

Weisselberg’s 2024 perjury plea

In March 2024, Weisselberg again came before a New York court, this time charged with perjury. Prosecutors alleged he had lied under oath in testimony related to Trump’s civil business fraud case, particularly concerning how Trump’s Trump Tower penthouse was valued and presented in financial statements.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to perjury counts and, in April 2024, was sentenced to a further five months in jail. Reports described this as his second stint at Rikers Island, following his earlier sentence tied to the tax fraud case. The plea agreement did not require him to cooperate in Trump’s other criminal matters but underscored that his prior testimony about financial statements was unreliable in key respects.

For investigators and courts, the perjury admission reinforced the importance of contemporaneous documents, independent audits, and third-party records when assessing Trump Organization finances, rather than relying solely on statements from loyal insiders.

Impact and context

The Trump Organization tax fraud convictions sit alongside other New York cases involving Trump-related entities, including the civil business fraud action brought by the New York Attorney General. While the tax case focused narrowly on off-the-books perks and payroll tax avoidance, it established that core Trump entities engaged in criminal conduct over many years.

Donald Trump was not personally charged in this case, and the penalties imposed on the companies were bounded by relatively low statutory caps. However, the outcome has been used by prosecutors and regulators as context when assessing Trump’s business practices more broadly, and it has been cited in public debates about corporate accountability and the legal risks associated with Trump-branded ventures.

Timeline

1 July 2021: Manhattan District Attorney indicts The Trump Corporation, Trump Payroll Corp., and Allen Weisselberg on tax-related charges.
18 August 2022: Weisselberg pleads guilty to 15 felonies, agrees to repay back taxes and testify at trial.
October – December 2022: Criminal trial of the two Trump Organization entities held before Justice Juan Merchan in New York Supreme Court; Weisselberg testifies for the prosecution.
6 December 2022: Jury convicts both entities on all 17 counts.
10 January 2023: Weisselberg sentenced to five months in jail under his plea deal.
13 January 2023: Court imposes approximately 1.61 million dollars in fines, the maximum allowed by law, on the Trump Organization entities.
April 2023: Weisselberg completes his tax-fraud sentence and is released from Rikers Island.
4 March 2024: Weisselberg pleads guilty to perjury connected to testimony in the New York civil fraud case.
10 April 2024: Weisselberg is sentenced to five months in jail for perjury and begins serving his second sentence.

Notes on scope and neutrality

This page covers the criminal tax-fraud prosecution of The Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp., along with Weisselberg’s related pleas.
It does not attempt to summarise all other criminal or civil proceedings involving Donald Trump. Those matters are covered separately within the Fraud Hub.
Donald Trump was not personally indicted in this case, though the company he owns through various entities was found guilty.
Sources include official court and prosecutor documents and mainstream news reporting. Language is descriptive and avoids advocacy to maintain neutrality and AdSense compliance.

Questions or corrections? Email the editors at admin@felonotus.com.

Sources

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