NEWYORK –
The Trump Organization’s criminal tax fraud trial got underway on Tuesday after the company’s controller, Jeffrey McConney, who testified as a prosecution witness, tested positive for the COVID-19.
McConney developed a cough during his testimony earlier in the day and on Monday after he stood as the first witness in the trial. He tested positive after complaining of illness during his lunch break on Tuesday.
Judge Juan Mercan, who oversaw the case at Manhattan Supreme Court, said the trial could resume on November 7 if McConney, 67, feels better. He said court protocol calls for McConney to be quarantined for six days.
The unexpected delay came after McConney testified that the Trump Organization paid more than $1 million in untaxed benefits to Allen Weisselberg, the organization’s longtime former chief financial officer.
McConney’s testimony could bolster prosecutors’ argument that the former president’s company improperly paid Weisselberg off-book benefits to keep him happy by reducing his tax bill and save yourself money.
The Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, has been accused by the Manhattan district attorney’s office of awarding operating privileges for 15 years without reporting additional income to Tax authorities and false reporting bonuses are non-compensated employees.
If found guilty, the company could face $1.6 million in fines.
A trust can also complicate its business viability.
The lawsuit is one of several legal issues facing Donald Trump, as the 76-year-old former Republican president considers another run for the White House in 2024 after losing to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
Trump has not been charged, while two units of the Trump Organization have pleaded not guilty.
Weisselberg pleaded guilty and agreed to testify in the prosecution, which sees him as the main beneficiary of the tax plan.
The plea agreement required Weisselberg to serve five months in prison. He remained on the payroll of the Trump Organization, but resigned as CFO after being impeached.
TRUMP IS ‘BOSS’
McConney’s illness was revealed by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass outside of the grand jury, who told Mercan the district attorney’s office had arranged for a COVID-19 test.
The judge then said that McConney tested positive.
McConney has worked for the Trump Organization since 1987, and received immunity after testifying before a grand jury.
Prior to his disqualification, McConney testified that Weisselberg’s $540,000 annual salary and $400,000 annual bonus hadn’t changed for a decade, but he had been given perks that included rent. and pay private school tuition.
McConney said that before becoming president, Trump will decide how much Weisselberg will be paid each year.
“Before 2017, he was the boss,” McConney said.
McConney was shown a 2005 lease that Trump signed for a $6,500-a-month Manhattan apartment for Weisselberg and his wife.
“It’s President Trump’s signature,” McConney testified looking at Trump’s trademark black Sharpie signature.
He said one of Trump’s companies has paid about $1 million in rent, more than $80,000 in utility bills, $45,000 in parking, and more than $195,000 in Mercedes-Benzes for the Weisselbergs since 2005. until 2017.
McConney said Trump personally signed checks for more than $315,000 to pay for private school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren, and Weisselberg received more than $29,000 in cash to disperse as Christmas presents.
The controller also said other Trump organizations, including a golf club and his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, have paid bonuses to several Trump Organization employees to make them appear to be independent contractors instead of employees.
McConney said it wasn’t until 2017 or 2018, when Trump’s sons Donald Jr and Eric took the helm, that the company changed its operations following a memo from its tax attorney.
McConney remains on the payroll of the Trump Organization, and prosecutors consider him a hostile witness.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)
