Paul Manafort illegally rented out a Manhattan condo as a short-term apartment on Airbnb to further a broad money laundering scheme to defraud the United States, according to a federal indictment. Manafort, the former chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, was indicted Monday morning on charges of conspiracy against the United States, money laundering, giving false statements and other charges.
The indictment centers on an alleged scheme to funnel millions of dollars through offshore bank accounts and companies in an effort to hoard wealth and purchase luxuries without reporting the income and paying taxes.
Manafort worked as a political consultant and lobbyist for the government and president of Ukraine, as well as other entities, the indictment claims. Through this and other work, Manafort amassed “millions of dollars,” which were not reported to the United States as required by law. Manafort would then take out loans and make purchases so that he could use the money in the United States without paying taxes, the indictment states.
That money was used to pay for personal expenses in the United States, including his mortgage payments, tuition, and even landscaping and interior decorating, the indictment alleges.
Manafort also used some of the money, which had been stored in offshore holdings in Cyprus, to purchase a condo in Manhattan for $2,850,000, which he then rented out through Airbnb and elsewhere. When applying for a mortgage on the property, Manafort lied to the bank and said it was a second home for his daughter and son-in-law, which allowed him to obtain a loan of approximately $3,185,000, the indictment continues.
Many Airbnb rentals are considered illegal in New York City as the area copes with a housing crisis.
Many people are taking to Twitter and calling for anyone who stayed at Manafort’s Airbnb home to talk about what it was like.
In a separate case in October of 2016, Manafort’s daughter and son-in-law were themselves sued for allegedly pulling in more than $30,000 by illegally renting out three apartment buildings on Airbnb. Manafort and her husband Jeffrey Yohai strongly denied the claims and said the apartments had never been rented on Airbnb, reported the New York Post.
Through their lawyer, Yohai and Manaford said they planned to countersue the landlord, Goose Mountain. “If anyone was renting units on Airbnb,” it was the landlord, the couple’s lawyer told the Post.
It is unclear what became of the lawsuit following the New York Post report.
This story was originally published October 30, 2017 11:14 AM.