Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager who, according to his lawyer was “feeling really good” as the jury deliberated 18 counts of financial crimes in a three-week trial, has been found guilty on eight counts, Reuters reports.
According to Washington Post, the jury was deadlocked on the remaining 10 charges, so the judge declared a mistrial. Manafort was convicted “on five counts of filing false tax returns, one count of not filing a required IRS form, and two bank fraud counts,” the Post reports. The 18 charges against Manafort carry up to a 305-year prison sentence.
While the trial stems from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, the case centered around Manafort’s shady personal finances and business dealings. According to prosecutors, Manafort allegedly defrauded banks of $20 million, hid his earnings from illicit lobbying work in Ukraine from the federal government, and received a loan from one bank after an executive applied for a role within the Trump campaign and administration. “Mr. Manafort lied to keep more money when he had it, and he lied to get more money when he didn’t,” prosecutor Greg Andres told jurors during closing arguments. “This is a case about lies.”
Prosecutors also documented Manafort’s lavish spending habits, which included a $15,000 ostrich-skin jacket and a home in the Hamptons with a waterfall and tennis courts, arguing that the money came from illicit foreign accounts. “Manafort’s practice of paying his vendors directly with his offshore funds was designed to hide the underlying income from his bookkeepers and return preparers, and ultimately the IRS,” the prosecutors noted in a filing.
Manafort now awaits another trial in September over his failure to register as a lobbyist for Ukraine and for allegedly attempting to tamper with a witness.