Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, concealed more than $200,000 in assisted living-related income, contributing to the tax evasion charges to which he pleaded guilty and for which he faces up to five years in prison, the Justice Department said in a 22-page criminal information document and other information released Tuesday evening.
The announcement came after Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to five counts of willful tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a bank (in connection with a $500,000 home equity loan), one count of causing an unlawful campaign contribution and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution. The $280,000 in campaign finance violations, according to the department, were related to payments to be made to silence two women who otherwise planned to speak publicly about their alleged affairs with Trump (referred to in the document in various ways — “Individual-1,” “a candidate for federal office” and “President of the United States,” for instance), thereby intending to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The Justice Department alleges that Cohen did not report to the IRS more than $4 million in personal income. More than $200,000 of that amount is alleged to have come from an unnamed “assisted living company” in 2016 in exchange for consulting work related to real estate and other projects.
“Mr. Cohen’s greed to hide his income from the IRS cheats all the honest taxpayers, and we should not expect law-abiding citizens to foot the bill for those who circumvent the system to evade paying their fair share,” IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett said in a statement.
Cohen is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the tax evasion charges, 30 years for making false statements to a federally insured bank, five years for causing an unlawful campaign contribution and five years for making an excessive campaign contribution.
