Trump Organization, Chief Financial Officer to Be Charged Today

Former US President Donald Trump's company and its long-serving chief financial officer are to be charged on Thursday with tax-related crimes, US media reported.

They would mark the first criminal charges in a more than two-year investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into alleged fraud at the Trump Organization.

The New York Times and The Washington Post said that a New York grand jury had indicted the company and Allen Weisselberg on Wednesday, although the specific charges have not been disclosed.

The Wall Street Journal said Weisselberg and the Trump Organization are expected to be charged with the evasion of taxes on fringe benefits when the indictment is unveiled on Thursday.

The paper was the first to report the imminent charges and cited people familiar with the matter.

Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance and New York state Attorney General Letitia James have been investigating whether Weisselberg and other executives avoided paying taxes on perks from the Trump Organization.

The perks included private school tuition, luxury cars and apartments, US media say.

Weisselberg, a loyal Trump lieutenant often described as the keeper of the company's secrets, is expected to turn himself into Vance's office on Thursday morning, the Post said, citing two people familiar with the plan.

He is then expected to be arraigned later in the day in front of a judge. Lawyers for the Trump Organization will also appear in court, the newspapers said.

Trump himself is not expected to be charged, according to the reports, although a criminal indictment would deal a major blow to the Republican ex-president who has suggested he could run for the White House again in 2024.