(NEW YORK, NY) — Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman, has traded in his luxury lifestyle for a jumpsuit and a jail cell.
This past Tuesday, Manafort appeared in court to defend himself against charges which include money laundering and tax fraud. Prosecutors say he lied to financial institutions in order to fund his high-end lifestyle.
The indictment, which was filed last October by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, accuses Manafort of laundering millions of dollars through luxury real estate.
Prosecutors say Manafort allegedly wired over $6 million from an offshore account to purchase these three NYC properties, which if found guilty, he will lose:
1) A stunning $3 million Brooklyn brownstone townhouse on Union Street
Manafort never actually lived in the townhouse. According to reports, his daughter and son-in-law planned to renovate it and move in.
While the future of the brownstone is uncertain, if Manafort is able to put it on the market it could go for around $9 million.
2) A $2.85 million condo on Howard Street in SoHo
In order to secure the $3.185 million mortgage on the property, Manafort allegedly lied that his daughter and son-in-law lived in the two-bedrooms, two-bathrooms Manhattan condo. In reality, he was renting it out on Airbnb.
3) An estimated $2.5 million apartment on Baxter Street in Chinatown
This apartment was purchased by Manafort’s daughter for around $2.5 million in 2007. According to sources, the property has been used as collateral for his $11.7 million bail.
Manafort is also at risk of losing a 2.4-acre estate in Water Mill, New York. The luxurious Hamptons home was built in 2001. Sources say that between 2008 and 2014, the property underwent $5.4 million worth of renovations. However, prosecutors are accusing Manafort of wiring the money to a Hamptons home improvement company from offshore accounts.
Manafort may also have to surrender his 1920s single-family home in Arlington, Virginia. The indictment accuses Manafort of wiring $1.9 million from Cyprus to buy the 2,600-square-foot house.
As for evidence, the case currently includes over 200 pages of invoices and job descriptions, all of which expose Manafort for using funds that were not disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution has also accused Manafort of making false financial representations in order to receive loans from banks.
Though Manafort has pleaded not guilty, some have testified against him. This past Tuesday, Heather Washkuhn, Manafort’s former bookkeeper, testified that Manafort lied to banks about his income. Stephen Jacobsen, the founder of SP&C, stated that Manafort spent over $3 million with the company, wiring the money in from abroad.
