Trump Org. and top aide charged with 15-year scheme to defraud ...

SectionsTVFeaturedMore from NBC Follow NBC News The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, were charged Thursday in what prosecutors said was a sweeping, 15-year scheme to compensate top executives of former President Donald Trump's company “off the books” and help them avoid paying taxes.The Trump Organization pleaded not guilty to charges that included tax fraud and falsifying business records. "It is dividing our Country like never before!"The organization echoed his remarks.“Make no mistake — this is not about the law; this is all about politics,” a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said in a statement.The grand jury indictments were obtained by the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and Letitia James, the New York state attorney general.In the indictment "we allege, among other things, financial wrongdoing whereby the Trump Organization engaged in a scheme with Mr. Weisselberg to avoid paying taxes on certain compensation," James said in a statement. NBC News reported in March that Vance was investigating whether Trump employees, including Weisselberg, were able to avoid paying taxes in exchange for fringe benefits, such as apartments.In a statement Thursday morning, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said that Weisselberg is “a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather who has worked at the Trump Organization for 48 years.”“He is now being used by the Manhattan District Attorney as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President,” the spokesperson said.