<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Former US President Donald Trump's family real estate company has been found guilty of tax crimes.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Trump Organization was convicted on all counts on Tuesday after two days of jury deliberations in New York.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The business is synonymous with the former president, but neither Mr Trump nor his family members were personally on trial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vowing to appeal the verdict, Mr Trump said he was "disappointed" and again described the case as a "witch hunt".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The company was convicted of enriching its top executives with off-the books benefits for more than a decade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Untaxed perks included luxury cars and private school fees, prosecutors said, which made up for lower salaries and therefore reduced the amount of tax the business was required to pay.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The company is expected to face a fine of around $1.6m (£1.3m) and may also face difficulty in securing loans and financing in the future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump previously criticised the trial as being politically motivated. He also attacked his long-serving former chief financial executive Allen Weisselberg after he pleaded guilty in August and testified against the business.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">In his most recent statement, attacking the verdict, the former Republican leader asked why the Trump Organization should be prosecuted for Mr Weisselberg's "personal conduct" - accusing him of "committing tax fraud on his personal tax returns".</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There was RELIANCE by us on a then highly respected and expensive accounting firm, and law firm, to do this work," Mr Trump said in the statement issued by his office.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"This case is unprecedented and... is a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country," he said, adding that New York City was now a "hard place to be a Trump".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prosecutors accused the Trump Organization - which operates hotels, golf courses and other properties around the world - of having a "culture of fraud and deception" during the six-week trial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They said it ran a scheme that allowed some executives to "understate their compensation" so that their taxes "were significantly less than the amounts that should have been paid".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The smorgasbord of benefits is designed to keep its top executives happy and loyal," prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury during closing arguments.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two subsidiaries of the Trump Organization - Trump Corp and Trump Payroll Corp - were convicted on all 17 charges of tax fraud and falsifying business records.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg praised the verdict on Tuesday, saying the case was "about greed and cheating".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"For 13 years the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation got away with a scheme that awarded high-level executives with lavish perks and compensation while intentionally concealing the benefits from the taxing authorities," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trump Organization former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg looks on as then-U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Weisselberg, 75, testified against the company as part of a plea deal he struck with prosecutors that will mean he spends no more than five months in jail.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He will be jailed at the notorious Rikers Island prison and must pay back more than $1.7m (£1.4m) in concealed income.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following the verdict, the judge set a sentencing date of 13 January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump and his three eldest children are facing a separate civil lawsuit which could see them banned from doing business in the state.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading that civil case, issued a statement hailing Tuesday's verdict as a "big victory".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"[It] shows that we will hold individuals and organisations accountable when they violate our laws to line their pockets," she said. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>