The charitable foundation of President-elect Donald Trump admitted in recent tax filings that it violated a rule prohibiting nonprofit leaders from using charitable funds to benefit themselves, their businesses or their families.
Trump faced scrutiny during his campaign over reports that he had used more than $250,000 from the Donald J. Trump Foundation to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses—a practice known as “self dealing.”
In tax filings for 2015, which were published on the GuideStar website Monday, the Trump Foundation checked “yes” when asked if it had transferred “income or assets to a disqualified person,” the Washington Post reported. IRS definitions of a “disqualified person” include the foundation manager, a substantial contributor to the foundation or their family members.
The Trump Foundation also checked “yes” when asked it had previously engaged in self-dealing.
Consequences for such violations can include excise taxes or repayment of funds used for self-dealing. It appears that the Trump Foundation had not previously admitted to self-dealing violations in other filings, and it’s not yet clear if Trump has already paid any penalties, according to the Post.