Telling the judge its investigation is “near the end,” the New York State Attorney General’s Office told the court that it is close to unraveling the “Russian nesting doll” that is Trump Organization’s financial dealings, CNN reports.
Kevin Wallace, senior enforcement counsel at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, told the court on Monday that prosecutors are moving quickly, but they still want to examine two cell phones belonging to Donald Trump and the laptop and desktop of his longtime executive assistant Rhona Graff.
Donald Trump himself and his company, the Trump Organization, have been under investigation for years by the state for shady financial dealings such as manipulating the value of properties to fit their needs: artificially increasing the stated value to aid with loan applications or lowering the claimed value to lower taxes.
The company and Trump are also being investigated for illegal compensation schemes for executives, designed to avoid tax liabilities. Trump has been accused of paying for living expenses for former company CFO Allen Weisselberg and paying more than $350,000 for tuition to private schools for his relatives, all to skirt tax obligations. Weisselberg is facing state charges, and another Trump associate, Michael Calamari Sr., is being investigated for similar crimes.
Trump declared in a deposition for an unrelated lawsuit–dealing with harm Trump security guards did to protesters in 2015 at Trump Tower–that he alone was responsible for approving Calamari’s compensation from the company, which makes him responsible for any financial misdealing associated with them.
Thanks to Uncle Vito for the tip.