Manafort accountant testifies she helped falsify tax records

[spanone]

08/03/18 - 07:14 PM EDT

A former accountant for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort testified Friday that she helped falsify tax records on his behalf in order to misrepresent $900,000 in personal income as a business loan.

The Washington Post reports that Cindy Laporta told a jury that she was asked by Manafort's former business associate, Rick Gates, that Manafort couldn't afford his tax bill in 2015 and that she should misrepresent $900,000 of Manafort's income as a business-related loan.

Laporta, who has been granted immunity by federal prosecutors for her testimony, added that she chose to go along with the scheme in order to avoid potential litigation from Manafort's lobbying firm.

“I had a couple of choices at that point,” Laporta said. “I could have refused to file the tax return,” which would have led to a lawsuit, she said.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/400346-manafort-accountant-testifies-she-helped-falsify-tax-records

[malaise]

1. I have a good friend who is a CPA

She resigned from an institution that paid her well rather than falsify anything for criminals.
There are way too many professionals in several spheres who have no fucking integrity or standards.

[peggysue2]

7. My husband also left a firm when . . .

it was suggested he 'play with the numbers.' Once he found employment elsewhere, he told the manager that he was a numbers guy, not a fiction writer.

Ahhh, the good ole days! The Art of the Steal has been around for many moons. The heists are just bigger now, more audacious.

[malaise]

14. Love it

[politicaljunkie41910]

10. To become a CPA, one has to go through a tough college curriculum and pass a series of rigorous

exams in order to practice his/her craft. Lying or falsifying documents could end your career and livelihood at best, and/or put you behind bars, at worse. As an Accountant, I would not lie or falsify a document if Jesus Christ himself asked me to. To work that hard to obtain your license, it is not worth it to lie for anyone. You will never work again in any field that requires any credential, or bond.

[malaise]

15. That was her view as well

Sadly people cook the books in a variety of ways.

[spanone]

11. manafort is a lot like trump. no soul.

[malaise]

16. Greedn

is all that matters to these people

[ALBliberal]

18. I'm a CPA and I've noticed that they refer to her

as “tax accountant” not a CPA.... if she is a CPA it’s likely she will lose her license to practice. Either way her professional career is probably finished.

I suspect Manafort chose to not work with CPAs... they wouldn’t be as easy to manipulate.

[malaise]

20. I did wonder

I hope she loses her license. She's a disgrace to her profession.

[ALBliberal]

21. Agree.

[Crabby Appleton]

22. The person that testified to changing the business income to a loan

Cindy Laporta was a CPA with Kositzka Wicks and Company (KWC CPA'S) a tax accounting firm based in Alexandra VA. She testified with immunity so at least she avoids criminal charges. She is no longer with KWC. Another KWC CPA testified but didn't do anything criminal ( and wasn't immunized) about no knowledge of foreign bank accounts.

[NBachers]

2. There is some real juicy meat coming out of this trial.

[Ms. Toad]

3. See? That $200,000 tax bill Manafort couldn't afford

is why it is critical that we lower tax rates. That way individuals won't be forced to commit crime in order to avoid ending up on the public dole.

A former accountant for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort testified Friday that she helped falsify tax records on his behalf in order to misrepresent $900,000 in personal income as a business loan.

Cindy Laporta testified before a jury that she was asked by Manafort's former business associate, Rick Gates, that Manafort couldn't afford to pay his taxes 2015, telling her that she should instead misrepresent Manafort's income, The Washington Post Reported.

The misrepresentation is estimated to have saved Manafort at least $400,000 in taxes, according to Laporta.

In case I need it:

[klook]

4. And I'm sure Gates intervened out of the goodness of his heart.

No way did Manafort direct him to misrepresent this income.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. The sound you just heard

Is Trump shitting himself

[Takket]

6. isn't this another crime that Manafort can be charged with?

Sounds like he forced his accountant to commit a crime under threat of a lawsuit. isn't that a crime? coercion?

[robbob]

17. Or they just found the perfect scapegoat?

[dalton99a]

8. And that's how they put away Al Capone.

Always follow the money

[TheBlackAdder]

9. Yep. At the end of the day, it's Manafort's signature attesting to its accuracy on the tax returns.

[Kensan]

12. Likely even worse...

I’m curious if the payment came from one of his own business entities. The entity deducts the payment, and then she turns around and calls it nontaxable loan proceeds at the personal level.

As I said in a different thread, she was smart to negotiate for immunity. As a CPA myself, I find her behavior and excuses reprehensible.

[SergeStorms]

13. And he's betting it all on Trump's pardon.

You'd think Manafort would know by now that loyalty is a one-way street with Trump. But go ahead, Paul, you just sit there like the cement-head you are, and wait for Little Donnie Trump's good graces to be showered upon you. We already know you're a fool, but when a fool keeps making foolish mistakes again, and again, and again.....well, just don't expect pity from anyone!

Enjoy spending the rest of your life in prison, asshole.

[bluestarone]

19. YEP in prison and

ALL HIS FAMILIES MONEY GONE! Destroy your family for RUMP!

[oasis]

23. Definitely guilty of tax evasion. It'll be awkward for Trump to pardon

him after recently giving tax breaks to millionaires.

[EricMaundry]

24. I hear the defense is it's a freedom of speech issue