Citizen Trump Not Immune from New York Tax Fraud Charges

New York changed its double jeopardy law in October 2019 specifically for Donald Trump and his cronies and his adult children. Should they leave the White House with a pardon in tow, New York can still prosecute them

In recent months, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has accelerated his criminal probe of the Trump Corporation.

In October 2019, Vance issued a subpoena to Trump’s accountant, Mazar’s USA, and his creditor, Deutsche Bank. Vance demanded eight years of corporate and personal tax returns after the FBI raided Cohen’s home and office, and found reimbursements for hush money payments Cohen made during Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep mum about their one-nighter. The National Enquirer paid $150,000 to capture and kill its article on Trump’s rendezvous with playboy model, Karen McDougal.

Since Trump reimbursed Cohen during the election and well into 2017, the payments could be a campaign finance violation.

Vance has pursued the case, Trump v. Vance, all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled last July that the President is not immune to state criminal probes while in office but could raise other defenses to Vance’s subpoena.

Insurance Fraud and Falsification of Business Records

Commenting on the case, Harry Sandick, a former New York prosecutor, told Reuters, “Some people believe Vance has been reluctant to charge Trump because of uncertainty over whether the case against a sitting president is constitutional. Those concerns will disappear when Trump leaves office.”

The probe into Trump Corporation has widened from the alleged hush money payments to bank, tax, and insurance fraud, as well as falsification of business records, Reuters reported.

The New York Times reported on December 2, 2020, that “state prosecutors in Manhattan have interviewed several employees of President Trump’s bank and insurance broker in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter, significantly escalating an investigation into the President that he is powerless to stop.”

“The interviews with people who work for the lender, Deutsche Bank, and the insurance brokerage, Aeon, are the latest indication that once Mr. Trump leaves office, he still faces the potential threat of criminal charges that would be beyond the reach of federal pardons.”

Tax Write-Offs Benefiting Trump’s Children

The Times also reported that Vance’s office recently subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to tax write-offs on millions of dollars in consulting fees paid to Ivanka Trump.

The subpoena sought information about fees paid to TTT Consulting LLC, a reference to Ivanka Trump and her two brothers. The defendants in the lawsuit are Donald Trump, Donald Jr., and Eric.

Dad’s Golf Courses Funded by the Russians

Trump has never been indicted for buying his real estate empire with laundered Russian money, but there’s ample evidence he’s doing just that.

The New York Post reported: “Golf writer James Dodson said he hit the links with Eric and Donald at the Trump National Golf Club in Charlotte, NC, in 2014, when he raised the question of how they found the money to keep developing golf courses when financing was tight during the recession.

“Dodson said Eric Trump replied: ‘Well, we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.’”

“Dodson said, ‘Really?”

“Eric continued: ’Oh, yeah. We’ve got some guys that really, really love golf, and they’re really invested in our programs. We just go there all the time.’”

“At a real estate conference in 2008, Donald Trump Jr. told Dodson that Trump Corporation is ‘looking all over the place, primarily Russia,’ to form financial relationships.

“And in terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”

Millions in Debt

Forbes’s Dan Alexander writes, “No aspect of Donald Trump’s business has been the subject of more speculation than his debt load.

He estimates Trump owes more than $1 billion.

“The loans are spread out over more than a dozen different assets—hotels, buildings, mansions and golf courses. Most are listed on the financial disclosure report Trump files annually with the federal government. Two, which add up to an estimated $447 million, are not.

“It is important to note…. that he also has significant assets. Forbes values them at $3.66 billion, enough to make his net worth an estimated $2.5 billion. He is not broke, despite what many critics claim.

“One reason for all the confusion,” Alexander writes, is that “Trump’s loans are not fully transparent. It’s still unclear to whom he owes an estimated $162 million against his skyscraper in San Francisco, for example.

“The loan against 1290 Avenue of the Americas is also something of a mystery. And it’s difficult to pin down the amount the President owes on a loan tied to his Bedford, New York, mansion. When asked about all of this, the Trump Organization did not respond.”