Manafort's bookkeeper testifies against him, alleging efforts to inflate income

Paul Manafort’s longtime bookkeeper testified against him Thursday, telling a Virginia jury that his seven-figure lifestyle lasted until about 2015 when the cash ran out, the bills piled up, and he and his business partner began trying to fudge numbers to secure loans.

The bookkeeper, Heather Washkuhn, testified about the eight years she worked for Manafort, managing his spending and overseeing several of his properties, from a Virginia horse farm to New York City condos.

Washkuhn’s often dry testimony of account balances, bills received, and payments made are critical to the case being heard by a six-man, six-woman jury in Alexandria, Va. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, is charged with running a years-long scheme to hide millions of dollars from the IRS, and then, when his income ran dry, lying to get bank loans to continue living the good life.

In tax trials, accountants and bookkeepers often provide critical testimony, and Washkuhn was no exception.

She described Manafort as a “very knowledgeable” client. “He was very detail oriented. He approved every penny of everything we paid.”

That point could prove critical to jury deliberations because Manafort’s lawyers have made clear they aim to place blame on the case’s star witness, Manafort’s former right-hand man, Rick Gates, portraying him as a liar and embezzler who is responsible for any financial chicanery found by the FBI.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/manaforts-bookkeeper-testifies-against-him-alleging-efforts-to-inflate-income/ar-BBLqac0