Tiny Red HandsBack

Cohen admits a $30,000 Trump Organization theft and reports $4.4 million in anti-Trump media income

His trial testimony quantified both a loss imposed on his former employer and wealth earned after becoming a public Trump critic.

Entities and roles

Relationships in this file

  1. Donald J. Trumppersonal attorney and Trump Organization executiveMichael Cohen

Money trail

  1. revenueReported books and podcasts income since 2020About $4.4 million
    Reported revenue source
    Book and podcast customers and platforms
    Reported revenue recipient
    Michael Cohen
    Financially affected
    Michael Cohen
    reported · 2024-05-20 · observedPopulation Gross income Cohen testified he earned from books and podcasts beginning in 2020Period 2020-01-01 to 2024-05-20Basis Use Cohen's sworn approximate total, comprising about $3.4 million from two books and $1 million from podcast activity and related merchandise.Limits Self-reported gross income is approximate and does not establish net profit, taxes, platform shares, or future earnings.Open cited evidence
  2. lossRedFinch reimbursement retained by Cohen$30,000
    Loss source
    Trump Organization
    Gain recipient
    Michael Cohen
    Loss or cost borne by
    Trump Organization
    realized · 2024-05-20 · observedPopulation Difference between $50,000 reimbursement claimed and $20,000 Cohen testified he paid RedFinchPeriod 2016-12-01 to 2017-12-05Basis Subtract Cohen's testified $20,000 vendor payment from the $50,000 technology reimbursement allocation; Cohen expressly characterized retaining the difference as theft.Limits The admission was trial testimony; the cited source reports no separate charge or civil recovery of this amount.Open cited evidence

Claims and evidence

  1. factdocumented

    Cohen testified that he paid RedFinch $20,000 of a $50,000 technology bill, sought reimbursement for the full amount, and kept $30,000, calling it theft from the Trump Organization after his bonus was cut. He also testified that books and podcasts had earned about $4.4 million since 2020. The first amount was a loss to his former employer; the second was gross post-break income to Cohen from different payers and years.