In Manhattan, Vance’s office is weighing whether to investigate the company and the individuals for possible books and records violations, one of the people said. If Vance proceeds, it is expected that he will coordinate his investigation with federal prosecutors to make sure his office is not duplicating or interfering with their efforts, the person said.
Jenny Johnson Ware, a Chicago criminal tax defense attorney, said the details of the Cohen case raise tax questions. The Trump Organization recorded some of the payments to Cohen as tax-deductible legal expenses.
“The only reason to do that would be to hide the nature of the payment and to make it tax deductible,” Ware said. “You know the saying, ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’?,” Ware said. “Well, this is lots and lots and lots of billowing smoke.”
This article provided by Bloomberg News.