Taxes Scandals

Illegally received $5.5 million lobbying for a Venezuelan businessman who wanted to be removed from ICE's "Most Wanted" list and then formed fake shell companies using the names of a law firm and a government official without their knowledge which he used to create false invoices and conceal his money from tax authorities

Fraudulently received $30,120 in COVID unemployment benefits while he was still employed and concealed $54,700 in consulting fees he earned and "thousands of dollars in income" from the IRS when he filed his 2021 federal income taxes

Illegally claimed $168 million in business losses on his Chicago property by using dubious accounting tactics to write off his massive losses on the project on both his 2008 and then again on his 2010 tax returns

Illegally spent over $100,000 in campaign contributions on personal expenses and then tried to cover it up by filing numerous false tax returns

Claimed a $1,500 homestead tax exemption meant for people who claim Texas their "principal residence" while he was running for a Senate seat in Georgia at the exact same time

Failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of taxable income to the government and siphoned even more to himself through a PAC that he earned from working as an unregistered foreign agent and lobbyist for the Venezuelan government

Unlawfully evaded paying almost $2 million in taxes over a sixteen-year period on items including rent, luxury cars and private school tuition for his grandchildren

Illegally sheltered hundreds of thousands of dollars in a trust and a company he owned in order to avoid paying $205,410 in back taxes he and his wife owed to the IRS

Failed to pay roughly $400,000 in taxes and penalties he owed on his 2017 tax bill

Cashed out over $570,000 from a $1.5 million mortgage loan he was able to refinance by lying to his bank about outstanding tax liabilities and illegally diverted his employees' payroll taxes to his personal accounts in order to maintain a lavish lifestyle and pay down his own tax obligations

Stole more than $800,000 in legal fees owed to his law firm by transferring the money to his personal account and then didn't pay the $254,628 tax bill that would have been due had the money been acquired legally

Illegally paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money to keep her from going public about an extramarital affair they had by directing his personal lawyer Michael Cohen to pay her off and agreeing to reimburse him in monthly installments one month before the 2016 election in violation of campaign-finance laws

Violated campaign-finance laws by paying former Playboy Playmate of the Year Karen McDougal $150,000 in hush money to keep her from going public about an extramarital affair they had by orchestrating a convoluted payment scheme involving his lawyer Michael Cohen and the tabloid National Enquirer a week and a half before the 2016 election

Listed a fake address on his declaration of candidacy forms and illegally claimed a city refund of $500 on a vacant building he owned and altered official documents related to the refund

Strongarmed leaders of a copper mining company into purchasing a large tract of land from a business associate who owed him money in exchange for him sponsoring legislation that would be favorable to the company, even once explicitly telling those involved "no Sandlin Property, no bill" and then failed to pay taxes on the $733,000 he received from the sale once the deal went through

Accepted $255,000 worth of lavish home renovations and over $236,000 in rental payments from billionaire business developer Eitan Wertheimer in exchange for using his position as NYPD Commissioner to lobby on Wertheimer's behalf with city officials, failed to report the additional income on his federal taxes and lied to federal investigators when confronted about it

Accepted free vacations and construction services at his vacation home valued at $107,000 in exchange for directing state contracts to a prominent businessman and also failed to report the income on his taxes