U.S. jury finds Trump Organization guilty of tax fraud

A jury in the U.S. state of New York found the Trump Organization guilty Tuesday in a 15-year tax fraud scheme to pay top executives off the books and have them avoid paying taxes.

Guilty verdicts were returned on 17 counts including conspiracy, scheme to defraud, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.

The company also faces nearly $1.7 million in fines during sentencing.

The Trump Organization and longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were indicted last year by the Manhattan district attorney's office after a multi-year investigation into the financial practices of former U.S. President Donald Trump's company.

Two entities of the company -- Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation -- were accused of paying the personal expenses of several top executives without reporting them as income and for compensating them as independent contractors instead of full-time employees, thus "cheating on their taxes" through the scheme, which included off-the-books perks like free apartments and luxury cars.

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to charges that he avoided paying nearly $2 million in taxes on company-provided perks, testified against the Trump Organization as part of a plea deal.

"Mr. Weisselberg testified under oath that he 'betrayed' the trust the company had placed in him and that he, at all times, acted 'solely' for his 'own personal gain' and out of his 'own personal greed,'" a Trump Organization spokesperson said in a statement. "The notion that a company could be held responsible for an employee's actions, to benefit themselves, on their own personal tax returns is simply preposterous."

Prosecutors, however, insisted that the Trump Organization benefitted from Weisselberg's tax evasion.

"By far the most significant benefit...is that it allowed these companies to pay their top executives less than they otherwise would have," said prosecutor Josh Steinglass.

"This whole narrative that Donald Trump is blissfully ignorant is just not true," Steinglass added.

Trump, who was not charged in the case, lashed out on social media Tuesday, saying the district attorney's office had been "fighting a political Witch Hunt for D.C. against 'Trump.'"