Trump Organization To Pay $1.61M For Tax Fraud

NEW YORK CITY — The Trump Organization must pay $1.61 million in fines after its high-profile tax fraud conviction.

A judge leveled the fines against former President Donald Trump's namesake company in a sentencing hearing Friday.

The fines are the maximum allowed under state law, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Outside the courtroom, he acknowledged the fines are a relative pittance compared to Trump's company's wealth.

“I want to be very clear: we don’t think that is enough,” he said. “Our laws in this state need to change in order to capture this type of decade-plus systemic and egregious fraud.”

Jurors convicted the Trump Organization of 17 tax crimes after prosecutors made the case that executives avoided taxes on rent-free apartments, luxury cars and private school tuition.

Trump, who was not himself on trial, denied knowledge of wrongdoing. His company released a statement after sentencing that said it did nothing wrong and an appeal is forthcoming.

“These politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to get President Trump and continue the never ending witch-hunt which began the day he announced his presidency,” the statement read.

Allen Weisselberg, the company's former chief financial officer, was the only executive charged in the case. He took the witness stand and tried to take responsibility.

This week, Weisselberg received a five-month sentence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.