NEW YORK (AP) — A New York state court has ordered two companies owned by former President Donald Trump to pay $1.61 million in tax penalties and fines.
The sum, which is the maximum allowed under state sentencing guidelines, is due 14 days after Friday’s sentencing.
“This conviction was significant because it was the first criminal conviction of former President Trump’s companies,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Bragg believes the financial penalty for decades of fraudulent behavior is insufficient.
“Our laws in this state must change to catch this type of decade-plus systemic and egregious fraud,” he said.
Kimberly Benza, a Trump Organization spokeswoman, issued a statement calling the prosecution “political” and stating that the company intends to appeal.
“Despite the fact that New York has become the world’s crime and murder capital, these politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to get President Trump and continue the never-ending witch-hunt that began the day he announced his candidacy,” the statement said.
The sentence comes after a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump’s family business guilty of all charges in a long-running tax-fraud scheme last month.
Trump was not charged, despite the fact that his name was mentioned frequently during the trial and his signature appeared on some of the documents at the heart of the case.
Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s long-time chief financial officer, was sentenced to five months in prison earlier this week for his role in the criminal scheme.
The Trump Organization is Trump’s family business, but it actually consists of hundreds of business entities, including the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation.
Weisselberg, 75, worked alongside Trump for decades and was described as a member of the family by Trump’s attorneys.
He agreed to plead guilty and serve as the main witness last summer.