Michael Cohen could have faced prison time if he’d been convicted of stealing from Donald Trump — as he admitted to doing in court, according to experts.
Michael Cohen could have faced up to 15 years in prison if he’d been charged and convicted of stealing from his former longtime boss Donald Trump — as he admitted to doing in his testimony Monday, legal experts said.
Cohen, 57, told jurors in the hush money trial against the former president, that he stole $60,000 from the Trump Organization after overstating how much he needed to be repaid for fronting funds to a poll-rigging tech company called Red Finch.
He also acknowledged, during the cross-examination by Trump attorney Todd Blanche, that he never had to plead guilty to larceny, despite telling multiple prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office about the incident.
Cohen could have been charged with second-degree grand larceny for stealing an amount over $50,000. A class C felony, the charge carries a sentence ranging from probation to as much as 15 years behind bars.
But “practically speaking this would never get prosecuted unless Donald Trump cooperated” said Jeremy Saland, a criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor.
The five-year statute of limitations for grand larceny has since expired, but Michael Bachner, another former prosecutor in the Manhattan DA’s office, said it was still effective for Trump’s defense to get Cohen to admit to pilfering from his longtime former employer.
