Michael Cohen acknowledged on the stand Monday that he stole about $30,000 from his one-time employer, the Trump Organization
Cohen is currently testifying about his former boss, former President Donald Trump, who is on trial in Manhattan after being charged with creating false business records to cover up a hush money scheme. He has pleaded not guilty.
As Cohen explained during his testimony, Trump had an outstanding bill of $50,000 from a tech company named Red Finch that he had initially dodged paying.
Eventually, the Trump Organization gave Cohen the $50,000 needed to repay the firm.
But when it came time to pay the company, Cohen gave them $20,000 and kept the remaining remaining $30,000.
“I went to TD bank and took out cash over a couple of days,” Cohen explained. “I just didn’t want to take out $20,000.”
Withdrawing more than $20,000 from a savings account automatically triggers the bank filing a report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit (FinCen), Yahoo Finance explained.
Notably, Cohen also testified that he made the payment to the company by putting cash into a brown paper bag.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, asked if that meant Cohen stole $30,000 from Trump, and Cohen testified “yes.”
Cohen taking the $30,000 isn’t what is on trial nor is it relevant to the hush money scheme. Still, the prosecutors refrained from objecting to the line of questioning.
MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin noted that Cohen testified he discussed the $30,000 theft with both federal and state prosecutors.
Monday was Cohen’s fourth day on the stand, and his third day under cross examination. Lawyers told the court that they expect to finish on Monday.
Trump’s defense team told Judge Juan Merchan that they believe they will be ready to deliver closing statements by next Tuesday.
