The Daily Fuckup

Ten days after a Manhattan jury convicted two Trump Organization entities, the case was not over. As of Dec. 16, 2022, sentencing had not yet happened, and the company still faced the prospect of a fine that prosecutors said could reach $1.6 million. ([ww2.nycourts.gov](https://ww2.nycourts.gov/people-v-donald-j-trump-criminal-37026))

The verdict on Dec. 6, 2022, covered The Trump Organization, Inc. and Trump Organization LLC, which jurors found guilty on all 17 counts in a criminal tax case centered on executive compensation and records prosecutors said were falsified to hide taxable income. The case also featured former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who later pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. ([ww2.nycourts.gov](https://ww2.nycourts.gov/people-v-donald-j-trump-criminal-37026))

By Dec. 16, the practical issue was not whether the corporations had been convicted. They had. The question was what the court would do next. The conviction remained on the record, sentencing was still pending, and the business was waiting to learn whether Judge Juan Merchan would impose the full fine sought by prosecutors or some lesser amount. ([ww2.nycourts.gov](https://ww2.nycourts.gov/people-v-donald-j-trump-criminal-37026))

The company has denied wrongdoing throughout the case. But the verdict left it with a finding by a jury that the payroll and compensation scheme at issue stretched across years and relied on false entries and misleading tax documents. That result does not vanish because the sentencing date has not yet arrived. ([ww2.nycourts.gov](https://ww2.nycourts.gov/people-v-donald-j-trump-criminal-37026))

For now, the damage is simple enough to measure: a criminal conviction sits on the books, the sentence is still pending, and the Trump brand is carrying another legal scar tied to how its businesses handled money, records and taxes. ([ww2.nycourts.gov](https://ww2.nycourts.gov/people-v-donald-j-trump-criminal-37026))