Posted on 03/06/2019 11:10:50 AM PST by Starman417
Michael Cohen, who did his best to smear Donald Trump last week, may well have been doing so in revenge. Last summer it was revealed that Cohen was under investigation for tax fraud.
Federal authorities are analyzing whether Cohen failed to report all of the income from his taxi-medallion business, which included "hundreds of thousands of dollars received in cash and other payments over the last five years," according to the Journal.The key here is that Cohen wasn't acting alone. Cohen's wife Laura was involved:Investigators are also probing whether any bank employees improperly extended loans to Cohen without adequate documentation, and whether Cohen made false statements or misrepresentations on loan applications.
In particular, federal investigators are looking closely at Mr. Cohen’s relationship with Sterling National Bank—which provided financing for Mr. Cohen’s taxi-medallion business—including whether Mr. Cohen inflated the value of any of his assets as collateral for loans, according to people familiar with the matter.
Convictions for federal tax- and bank-fraud may carry potentially significant prison sentences, which could put additional pressure on Mr. Cohen to cooperate with prosecutors if he is charged with those crimes, according to former federal prosecutors. -WSJ
While Michael Cohen once described himself as Trump's "fixer," Cohen has persued his own ventures - including real estate, taxi medallions and personal loans.Cohen claimed to stand by Trump for a long time- until Mueller did the Cohen what he had done to Michael Flynn.As of April 2018, Mr. Cohen owned 22 medallions in Chicago, and either he or his wife, Laura, controlled 32 medallions in New York City, some of which were also owned at least partly by family members and others, according to public records.
As recently as 2014, taxi medallions were considered a rock-solid investment. The medallions, issued by a city agency and required for running a taxi, are bought and sold on a secondary market. Some licenses for taxi medallions in New York sold for an average $1.25 million per medallion in 2013 and 2014, according to bankruptcy filings.
But in recent years, their value has plummeted amid competition from ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft. In a filing for a federal bankruptcy case in June 2017, Mr. Freidman said the estimated value of each medallion had dropped to approximately $200,000 to $225,000. -WSJ
Threaten the family. In this case, Mueller threatened to go after Cohen's wife Laura
But a key Trump administration official, who inadvertently played a central role in Wednesday’s House hearing, has claimed there is another reason for Cohen’s betrayal—that his wife was being threatened with jail time unless he “turned on” Trump.That would be the same Lynne Patton that democrats berated as a "prop". Patton explained:The assertion was made in a Facebook entry by Department of Housing and Urban Development official Lynne Patton in January. The post has taken on new relevance given Cohen’s testimony Wednesday.
“What many of you may not be aware of is the fact that I can personally confirm that the ONLY reason Michael Cohen ‘turned on’ the President of the United States is because Mueller threatened to throw his wife in jail for up to 30 years. Period,” Patton posted on Jan. 18.Indeed. However, the raids on Cohen's properties were directed by one person- Mueller:“She is the co-guarantor of a $20M personal loan that Mueller discovered Michael secured back in 2015 by falsely inflating the value of his taxi medallions—effectively making her part & parcel to the federal charge of ‘Making False Statements to a Financial Institution,’ to which Cohen ultimately plead guilty,” she continued, adding that was also the reason a “longtime taxi medallion partner” was granted immunity.
Despite Patton’s suggestion that Mueller had jurisdiction over the loan issues, it was the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York that investigated and brought charges against Cohen related to bank fraud and personal business dealings. Mueller only charged Cohen with one count of making false statements to Congress, to which he pleaded guilty.
(Excerpt) Read more at Floppingaces.net...
You couldn't just post the rest here?
It's your own blog. What's the problem?
The assertion was made in a Facebook entry by Department of Housing and Urban Development official Lynne Patton in January. The post has taken on new relevance given Cohen’s testimony Wednesday.
And she would know that how?
Cohen turned on Trump because he is a weasel. Because he wanted a lighter sentence. And half a dozen other reasons all related to his own self-interest.
Trump hires people who’s success is tied to him. Therefore they owe him. He sees value in that type of loyalty.
This works in business.
If Trump was not president, Cohen would be dealing taxi medallions and paying off bimbos in obscurity. And Amorosa would be working in his org.
But never let it be called an Injustice.
Did any of us vote for or want a country where one vicious prick has this kind of illegitimate power and mercilessly uses it for political ends?
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN? Lanny is now the lawyer for Michael Cohen.
Few men in history have ever been able to summon up the kind of slavish loyalty Lanny Davis has for the Clintons......
shameless, transparent deceit and corruption. not even a trace of integrity......like the Clintons.
Davis is the personification of Deep State denizens. Cringingly slavish to those in power, a consigliere,
their fundraiser, their surrogate in times of trouble, and a smiling liar.
Lanny Davis once told Hillary that she was the best person he has ever met in his whole life. I guess Lanny never got out much.
Took a minute to get Lanny’s mouth off of Hillary's ***.
I think Cohen looks like Kripke in BBT.
How much IS a taxi ride in NY that it can pay off $1,000,000, or more?
Only Bernie Madoff can make that math work....
There’s gotta be a profit somewhere. I just don’t see it.
You couldn’t find something worthwhile to say?
It’s your own reply. What’s the problem?
He and his were criminally threatened. I do not excuse him; I simply understand what the Swamp is and does.
You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I should craft my comments to please you.
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