New York prosecutors on Thursday unveiled an indictment charging the Trump Organization’s finance chief Allen Weisselberg with grand larceny and the company with fraud, launching the first criminal case resulting from a multiyear investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business affairs.
Carey Dunne, the general counsel of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, told state court Justice Juan Merchan that the charges encompassed a 15-year-long tax-fraud scheme involving off-the-books payments at the Trump Organization. He said Mr. Weisselberg had illegally avoided paying taxes on $1.7 million in income.
“There’s no clearer example of a company that should be held to account,” Mr. Dunne said. “It’s not about politics.”
Mr. Weisselberg, appearing in handcuffs, pleaded not guilty. The Trump Organization, through its attorneys, also pleaded not guilty.
The top charge for Mr. Weisselberg—grand larceny in the second degree—is a felony that, upon conviction, carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.