I guess you missed this post -- === Re: hap0206 post# 474562 Wednesday, May 15, 2024 5:50:14 PM Post# 474564 of 474795 Now here is the problem: facts provided by the FBI/IRS https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/michael-cohen-pleads-guilty-manhattan-federal-court-eight-counts-including-criminal-tax In January 2017, COHEN in seeking reimbursement for election-related expenses, presented executives of the Company with a copy of a bank statement from the Essential Consultants bank account, which reflected the $130,000 payment COHEN had made to the bank account of Attorney-1 in order to keep Woman-2 silent in advance of the election, plus a $35 wire fee, adding, in handwriting, an additional “$50,000.” The $50,000 represented a claimed payment for “tech services,” which in fact related to work COHEN had solicited from a technology company during and in connection with the campaign. COHEN added these amounts to a sum of $180,035. After receiving this document, executives of the Company “grossed up” for tax purposes COHEN’s requested reimbursement of $180,000 to $360,000, and then added a bonus of $60,000 so that COHEN would be paid $420,000 in total. Executives of the Company also determined that the $420,000 would be paid to COHEN in monthly amounts of $35,000 over the course of 12 months, and that COHEN should send invoices for these payments ==== My take on the above Up until Jan 2017, Cohen had been an employee of the Trump Organization -- Salary $380k plus -- apparently terminated because Trump elected POTUS -- A chief accountant, looking at the above bunch of agreements, would have to decide how to record the transactions -- 1 - Cohen was a terminated employee -- 10 years of service as a trouble fixer -- in an office next door to Trump according to google 2 - He fixed a problem with Stormy D paying her attorney $130k with his own money -- and $50k to a tech company for some kind of services 3 - Trump agrees to pay him the $180k and apparently believing Cohen will be taxed on this money because he cannot offset it by claiming a deduction for the payments to the SD attorney or the tech company -- agrees to pay another $180k for assumed taxes 4 - And then, apparently because Cohen had been such a good employee agreed to pay a bonus of $60k -- making a total of$420k 5 - And then agreed to pay the $420k in 12 payments of $35k ======= So Mr. chief accountant how do you record such payments -- I would have called them "severence pay" for services rendered -- but when the TrumpCompany got the first invoice from Cohen (now apparently a practicing attorney) it was for a "retainer" for legal services -- retainers are for legal services to be rendered -- so the accountant recorded them as a legal expense -- obviously wrong -- they were for employee services already rendered
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