Partner Mark H. Moore Quoted by The Wall Street Journal on the Liabilities of Chief Financial Officers Amid Allen Weisselberg’s Indictment

On July 1, New York prosecutors revealed the indictment charging Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s Chief Financial Officer, with grand larceny and the Trump Organization with fraud. The indictment of Mr. Weisselberg illuminates civil and criminal liabilities to which corporate finance executives are possibly subject.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the investigation alleges that Mr. Weisselberg and the private real-estate company illegally evaded taxes on fringe benefits, such as car leases, Manhattan apartments and private-school tuition.

Partner Mark H. Moore was recently quoted in the WSJ’s article written by Mark Maurer and Kristin Broughton entitled “Indictment of Trump Organization Executive Puts Focus on CFOs’ Liability,” which addressed the legal vulnerabilities of chief financial officers of private companies (like the Trump Organization) and of public companies, which are more highly regulated. Areas of concern include exposure to claims of fraud by shareholders or lenders and claims of wire, mail and bank fraud involving financial data.

Mark explains that securities laws have farther-reaching consequences for public companies because of required disclosures of assets, revenue and business prospects—which, if inaccurate, can mislead public investors. Though private companies, on the other hand, aren’t required to share their financial data with the investing public, Mark noted that CFOs who choose to mislead lenders about company assets by providing false private information to banks can still be charged with fraud.

To learn more, read the full WSJ article here.