Donald Trump's former lawyer will meet with New York prosecutors for the eighth time on Friday, according to reports, as the investiga...
Donald Trump's former lawyer will meet with New York prosecutors for the eighth time on Friday, according to reports, as the investigation into potential tax fraud by the former president gathers steam.
Michael Cohen, 54, began working for the Trump Organization in 2006, and in 2018 was sentenced to three years for his role assisting tax evasion and campaign finance fraud.
Cohen was released in April 2020 and has been speaking to the team led by Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, which is criminally investigating Trump's finances.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, is conducting a civil inquiry into the allegations.
In a recent interview with Cohen, investigators asked questions about Trump's Seven Springs estate as part of an inquiry into whether the value of the 213-acre Westchester County property was improperly inflated to reduce his taxes.
Michael Cohen, seen in March 2019, will speak with New York prosecutors on Friday
Cohen began working for the Trumps in 1996 and is now cooperating with prosecutors
Cyrus Vance Jr, the Manhattan district attorney, is investigating Trump for tax fraud
The Associated Press reported that investigators asked Cohen about individuals involved in the appraisal of the estate and benefits derived from its valuation, including a $21 million income tax deduction.
Cohen was released to home confinement last year amid coronavirus fears, and his recent meetings have been conducted via video conference.
Vance announced last week that he would leave office at the end of the year and not seek reelection, but in a memo to staff, he stressed that the investigation would not stop.
'The work continues,' Vance wrote, echoing his short statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that he could have Trump's tax records.
Vance recently hired former mafia prosecutor Mark Pomerantz - who, as a federal prosecutor, oversaw the prosecution of Gambino crime boss John Gotti - as a special assistant district attorney to assist in the wide-ranging probe of Trump's finances.
Pomerantz, a 'mob-busting' prosecutor, has been brought in by Vance to investigate Trump
Vance, 66, is stepping down at the end of this year but has vowed the investigation will continue
The inquiry, according to court filings, includes an examination of whether Trump or his businesses lied about the value of assets to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits.
The district attorney also is scrutinizing hush-money payments paid to women on Trump's behalf.
After a lengthy legal battle, his office is now in possession of eight years of Trump's tax records, including final and draft versions of tax returns, source documents containing raw financial data and other financial records held by his accounting firm.
The Supreme Court on February 22 ruled that Vance's team should have access to the documents.
Vance's focus on Seven Springs involves an environmental conservation arrangement Trump made in return for a tax deduction at the end of 2015, following failed attempts to turn the property into a golf course and luxury homes.
Trump granted an easement to a conservation land trust to preserve 158 acres and received a $21 million income tax deduction, equal to the value of the conserved land, according to records.
The amount was based on a professional appraisal that valued the full Seven Springs property at $56.5 million as of December 1, 2015.
That was a much higher amount than the evaluation by local government assessors, who said the entire estate was worth $20 million.
Trump bought the property, including a palatial Georgian-style mansion that once belonged to the family of newspaper publisher Katharine Graham, for $7.5 million in 1995.
Trump bought the Seven Springs estate, in Mount Kisco, New York, in 1995 for $7.5 million
Trump is seen speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 28
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