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

Reporting and findings

  1. documented

    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.

Summary and current status

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

Admissions made under oath; no separate theft charge reported in the cited source

People and organizations

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 · observedRead source record
    Calculation detailsPopulation 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.
  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 · observedRead source record
    Calculation detailsPopulation 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.