Donald Trump’s election as president was a wake-up call — not just for the political establishment, but also for the company synonymous with him, his wealth and his fame, a top executive testified Tuesday.
Suddenly, with the boss heading to the White House in 2017, the Trump Organization found itself scrambling to scrub some pay practices and financial arrangements now at issue at the company’s criminal tax fraud trial in New York, senior vice president and controller Jeffrey McConney told jurors.
It is one of three active cases involving Trump or the company in New York courts. They are also defendants in a fraud lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney general and a lawsuit brought by protesters who say they were roughed up by Trump’s security guards. McConney said he never saw the memo, and company lawyers cut off further discussion with a sustained objection, citing attorney-client privilege. Nevertheless, McConney said, the company changed its tax and pay practices soon after the audit.
The company paid for a Manhattan apartment and Mercedes-Benz cars for Weisselberg and his wife, as well as parking spots, utilities and furnishings, with one receipt noting the order was, “VIP FOR TRUMP.” Weisselberg’s son and another Trump Organization executive also received off-the-books compensation, prosecutors said.
Trump signed off on Weisselberg’s salary and bonuses, signed a lease for the Manhattan apartment the Trump Organization rented for Weisselberg and his wife, and personally paid the tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren to attend the prestigious Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School.Some checks and documents bearing Trump’s distinct signature were shown in court, along with pay statements and other documents detailing some of the company’s since-altered compensation practices.
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