A longtime business partner of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, whose business dealings are being scrutinized by federal prosecutors, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a state tax fraud case that requires him to cooperate in any ongoing investigation, according to a person briefed on the deal.
Yellow cab magnate Evgeny "Gene" Freidman, the so-called Taxi King of New York, pleaded guilty to a single count of tax fraud in an Albany courthouse, almost a year after state prosecutors and tax authorities charged him with pocketing $5 million in mandatory, per-ride transportation fees.
FILE - In this April 11, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, walks down the sidewalk in New York. Cohen's longtime business partner Evgeny Freidman pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, to tax fraud in a deal that requires him to cooperate in any ongoing investigations. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
For years, Freidman has managed hundreds of taxi medallions, the physical plates affixed to cabs that owners are required to display, including more than two dozen owned by Cohen, Trump's longtime fixer. The two men, both lawyers, also have been close personally for decades — Freidman told the real estate publication the Real Deal last February that Cohen helped him name his eldest son.
Still, it wasn't immediately clear what if any information Freidman could provide to investigators probing Cohen's financial dealings. His lawyer, Patrick Egan, declined to discuss the deal and said he couldn't comment on what the plea "indicates regarding any case other than my client's."
Cohen's attorney didn't return phone and email messages seeking comment.
In announcing the deal, the attorney general's office made no mention of potential cooperation, saying that Freidman would be required to pay back the money he was charged with pocketing, including $500,000 within 30 days of his plea.
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2017, file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, steps out of a cab during his arrival on Capitol Hill in Washington. Cohen's longtime business partner Evgeny Freidman pleaded guilty, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, to tax fraud in a deal that requires him to cooperate in any ongoing investigations. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The person familiar with the case wasn't authorized to publicly discuss it and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
FBI agents last month raided Cohen's home, office and hotel room as part of a monthslong probe into the Trump fixer's finances, including his dealings in the taxi industry, according to court papers and people familiar with the investigation.
The case was referred to Manhattan federal prosecutors by Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians.
Cohen has emerged in recent months at the center of controversies facing Trump, most notably for his role facilitating a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just days before Election Day.
Trump denies having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. But she and her publicity-friendly attorney have pressed their case in courtrooms in Los Angeles and in New York, as well as on Twitter, claiming that Cohen's campaign-era non-disclosure agreement to keep Clifford from discussing the alleged 2006 affair with the then-reality TV star is invalid.
Agents who took part in the April raid of Cohen's homes and offices obtained records pertaining to that deal among other documents, people familiar with the probe have told the AP.
NEW YORK (AP) — A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, drawing jury selection a step closer to completion in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
After a jury of 12 New Yorkers was seated Thursday, lawyers are now expected to turn their attention to picking remaining alternates who can vow to set aside their personal views and impartially judge the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Thursday's court proceedings demonstrated unpredictability in the jury selection process of such a high-profile case, with two jurors who had been seated a day earlier being dismissed from the panel.
The judge has suggested that opening statements in the criminal trial could begin as early as Monday, before prosecutors begin laying out their case alleging a scheme to cover up negative stories Trump feared would hurt his 2016 presidential campaign.
The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden. It will feature salacious and unflattering testimony his opponent will no doubt seize on to try to paint Trump as unfit to return as commander in chief.
Judge Juan M. Merchan is also expected to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request from prosecutors to bring up Trump's prior legal entanglements if he takes the stand in the hush money case. Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict.
Trump says he did nothing wrong, and has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system bent on keeping him out of the White House. He has lashed out on social media about the judge, prosecutors and potential witnesses, prompting the district attorneys to seek sanctions for possible violations of a gag order in the criminal case.
After Thursday's court proceedings, Trump complained to reporters that he should have been out campaigning but was in court instead for what he said was a “very unfair trial.”
“Everybody’s outraged by it,” he said. “You know the whole world’s watching this New York scam."
The jury of Manhattanites includes a sales professional, a software engineer, a security engineer, an English teacher, a speech therapist, multiple lawyers, an investment banker and a retired wealth manager.
The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the 2016 race.
Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.
Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted, though it’s not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.
Trump faces four criminal cases, but it’s not clear that any others will reach trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have caused delays in the other three cases charging Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election results and with illegally hoarding classified documents.
Richer reported from Washington.
Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New York.Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
Former President Donald Trump returns from a break at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in New York. (Timothy A. Clary/Pool Photo via AP)
