Gavin Howe
Michael Cohen, former US President Donald Trump's lawyer, pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, and campaign finance violations. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and disbarred from practicing law in New York State. While the focus has been on his violations of federal law, there is interest in whether Cohen could also be prosecuted under state law. This is especially relevant given that Cohen's conduct may have violated several Rules of Professional Conduct, which are enforced by state authorities.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Michael Cohen |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Plea | Guilty |
| Charges | Tax evasion, making false statements to a federally-insured bank, and campaign finance violations |
| Sentence | 3 years in prison, $50,000 fine, $500,000 forfeiture, $1,393,858 restitution to the IRS, and a mandatory $800 special assessment |
| Disbarment | Yes, by the state of New York |
| Pardoning | Possible by President Trump |
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What You'll Learn
Michael Cohen's disbarment
Michael Cohen, former lawyer to Donald Trump, was disbarred in New York State in February 2019. Cohen's disbarment came after he pleaded guilty to eight felony charges in August 2018, including tax evasion, making false statements to a federally-insured bank, and campaign finance violations. Under New York law, lawyers face automatic disbarment for felony convictions.
The charges against Cohen centred on his concealment of more than $4 million in personal income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), resulting in the avoidance of over $1.3 million in income tax. Additionally, Cohen was found to have made false statements to a federally-insured financial institution to obtain a $500,000 home equity loan. In one instance, Cohen caused American Media, Inc. ("AMI") to make a $150,000 payment to one woman, and he made a $130,000 payment to another woman through an LLC he incorporated for that purpose. These payments were made to influence the 2016 election and were coordinated with members of the campaign.
In his plea, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about the timing and extent of discussions regarding the Moscow project, which was a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen also admitted to making the hush money payments to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump, in order to prevent negative news coverage impacting Trump's presidential campaign.
Following his guilty pleas and conviction, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, officially disbarred Cohen on February 26, 2019. This meant that Cohen was no longer permitted to practice law in the state of New York. Cohen was also sentenced to three years in prison, ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, and required to pay restitution to the IRS.
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Tax evasion
On August 21, 2018, Michael Cohen, former lawyer to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges in a Manhattan federal court. Five of these charges were counts of tax evasion. The other charges included making false statements to a bank, causing an unlawful campaign contribution, and making an excessive campaign contribution.
From 2012 to 2016, Cohen concealed over $4 million in personal income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), evading more than $1.3 million in income tax. Cohen failed to report income largely related to his work with various taxicab companies, many of which had previously been linked to tax trouble.
As part of the plea agreement, Cohen was required to file amended tax returns with the IRS. He also agreed to pay restitution, including back taxes, penalties, and interest. The amount of past taxes due was $1,495,305. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison, a $50,000 fine, and ordered to pay $1,393,858 in restitution to the IRS.
In addition to the aforementioned charges, Cohen was also sentenced to concurrent three-year terms of supervised release in both cases, to follow his term of imprisonment.
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False statements to a federally-insured bank
In 2018, Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion, making false statements to a federally-insured bank, and campaign finance violations. Cohen pled guilty to an eight-count information before the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
One of the charges that Cohen faced was making false statements to a federally-insured financial institution to obtain a $500,000 home equity loan. Cohen had omitted a $14 million line of credit from his application to Bank 3. He misled the bank, stating that the line of credit was undrawn and that he would close it. In reality, Cohen had overdrawn the line of credit and had refinanced his debt with another bank. When Bank 3 informed Cohen that they would only provide financing if he closed the line of credit, he lied again, stating that the line of credit had been closed in November 2014.
Additionally, Cohen understated his monthly expenses to Bank 3 by omitting at least $70,000 in monthly interest payments due to another bank. By concealing this information, Cohen obtained a home equity line of credit that Bank 3 would not have otherwise approved.
The conviction for making false statements to a federally-insured bank resulted in significant losses for the financial institution. As a result of the cooperation between law enforcement and the bank, the defendant was ordered to pay restitution.
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Campaign finance violations
In 2018, Michael Cohen, former attorney for President Donald Trump and former vice president at the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax evasion, making a false statement to a financial institution, willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution to a campaign, and making an excessive campaign contribution.
Cohen admitted that he caused American Media, Inc. (AMI) to make a $150,000 payment to one woman, and made a $130,000 payment to another woman through an LLC he incorporated for the purpose of making the payment. He was reimbursed for the latter payment in monthly installments disguised as payments for legal services. Cohen made these payments to influence the 2016 election and did so in coordination with one or more members of the campaign.
In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, Cohen was ordered to pay a fine of $50,000, to forfeit $500,000, to pay $1,393,858 in restitution to the IRS, and to pay a mandatory $800 special assessment.
Cohen's guilty plea and conviction resulted in his automatic disbarment from the practice of law in New York. He was sentenced to three years in prison, which was on the lower end of the "substantial term of imprisonment" that federal prosecutors in New York had suggested.
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Making an excessive campaign contribution
Michael Cohen, an attorney and employee of a Manhattan-based real estate company, pleaded guilty in 2018 to eight counts, including tax evasion, making false statements to a federally-insured bank, and campaign finance violations. The campaign finance violations included causing a corporation to make an unlawful contribution to the Trump campaign and personally making an excessive contribution to the same campaign.
Cohen admitted to arranging payments to two women to suppress their stories of alleged affairs with Trump. The first payment was made by American Media Inc. (AMI), the parent company of the National Enquirer, to buy the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal's story for $150,000. AMI then shelved her story, effectively making an in-kind contribution to Trump's presidential campaign. This violated the ban on corporate donations to campaigns.
The second payment was made directly by Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the amount of $130,000. Cohen admitted that he made the payment so that her story would not damage Trump's campaign. This payment exceeded the legal limit for individual contributions, which was $5,400 at the time. Cohen's payment is considered an unreported "in-kind" excess campaign contribution.
Cohen's excessive campaign contribution is a serious matter as it was made knowingly and willfully, with the specific intent to influence the election. Such contributions are prohibited by law as they are unlawful corporate contributions. These acts have been charged as felonies.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Michael Cohen, former attorney for President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax evasion, making a false statement to a financial institution, willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution to a campaign, and making an excessive campaign contribution.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and a $50,000 fine. He was also ordered to pay $500,000 in forfeiture, $1,393,858 in restitution to the IRS, and an $800 special assessment.
Yes, Cohen was disbarred by the New York State Bar. Under New York Judiciary Law, any attorney convicted of a felony will automatically be disbarred and will no longer be permitted to practice law in the state.
Cohen was accused of concealing more than $4 million in personal income from the IRS, making false statements to a federally-insured financial institution, and causing $280,000 in payments to silence two women who planned to speak publicly about their alleged affairs with a presidential candidate.
