NEW YORK, July 1 — Former US President Donald Trump’s namesake company and its chief financial officer are expected to be hit with criminal charges on Thursday by prosecutors in Manhattan, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Trump’s lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, told Reuters on Monday that prosecutors suggested the charges would be related to taxes and fringe benefits and that Trump himself would not be charged in the indictment. In a statement on Monday, Trump called prosecutors biased and said his company’s actions were “in no way a crime.”Charges also could increase pressure on Weisselberg to cooperate with prosecutors, which he has resisted. Weisselberg is a close Trump confidant, making his cooperation potentially crucial to any future case against the former president.
“‘Scheme to defraud’ is a crime that allows the prosecution to detail a narrative in the indictment describing the criminal conduct and how it originated, no matter how long ago the crime started,” Scholl said.