The law Donald Trump broke in New York was Penal Law § 175.10, falsifying business records in the first degree.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 175.10 – Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree A Manhattan jury convicted him of 34 felony counts under that statute on May 30, 2024, making him the first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes.2Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. D.A. Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Trial Conviction of Donald J. Trump Each count tied to a specific document in the Trump Organization’s books that prosecutors said was deliberately mislabeled to hide a $130,000 hush-money payment made to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.
What Section 175.10 Actually Says
New York’s falsifying business records statute has two tiers. The base offense, falsifying business records in the second degree, is a Class A misdemeanor and carries up to 364 days in jail.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law PEN 175.05 – Falsifying Business Records in the Second Degree4New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors A person commits it by intentionally making a false entry in a company’s records, altering or destroying a true entry, or causing someone else to do so. The term “business records” reaches any document or digital record a company keeps to reflect its finances or operations.5New York State Unified Court System. New York Penal Law 175.10 – Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree Jury Instructions
The offense becomes a Class E felony under § 175.10 when the false entries are made with the intent to commit or conceal another crime.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 175.10 – Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree A Class E felony is punishable by up to four years in prison.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony That second-crime element is what lifted all 34 of Trump’s counts out of misdemeanor territory.
The statute does not require anyone to have relied on the false record or suffered a loss. The whole focus is intent: did the defendant knowingly create or approve a misleading entry, and did they do it to further or hide another crime?
The Conduct Behind the Charges
In October 2016, Michael Cohen paid $130,000 of his own money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Cohen routed the money through a shell company. After winning the election, Trump reimbursed Cohen in monthly installments through the Trump Organization, totaling roughly $420,000. The amount was inflated above the original $130,000 to cover Cohen’s taxes on the income, included a $60,000 bonus, and folded in a separate $50,000 payment Cohen had made to a technology company.2Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. D.A. Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Trial Conviction of Donald J. Trump
Each monthly reimbursement was recorded in the company’s books as a payment for legal services under a retainer agreement. Prosecutors said the retainer did not exist and no legal work was performed. The labels were the falsification.
Why the Charges Were Felonies
To elevate the counts to felonies, prosecutors had to identify the other crime Trump intended to commit or conceal. They pointed to New York Election Law § 17-152, which makes it a misdemeanor for two or more people to conspire to influence an election through unlawful means.7New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 17-152 – Conspiracy to Promote or Prevent Election
The theory was that Trump, Cohen, and then-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker agreed in 2015 to find and bury damaging stories about Trump before the 2016 election, and that the false business records concealed that conspiracy. Prosecutors offered three categories of unlawful means the jury could consider: federal campaign finance violations (the $130,000 payment to Daniels exceeded the $2,700 individual contribution limit for 2016),8Federal Election Commission. Contribution Limits for 2015-2016 additional falsified business records beyond the 34 charged, and tax law violations tied to how the reimbursements were characterized on company filings.
Prosecutors did not have to prove that the election conspiracy succeeded, that Trump was ever separately charged under election law, or that any of the three categories of unlawful means was actually completed. The felony elevation only required evidence that Trump intended the false records to further or hide a conspiracy that used unlawful methods.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 175.10 – Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree
What the 34 Counts Represent
Each count corresponded to one specific document created during the reimbursement process. The counts broke down into three groups:9Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. New York v. Donald J. Trump Indictment
- Eleven invoices Cohen submitted for legal services the prosecution said were fabricated.
- Twelve entries in the Trump Organization’s general ledger that categorized each payment as a legal expense, some recorded under the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and others under Trump’s personal accounts.
- Eleven checks issued to Cohen, along with their check stubs, drawn first from the trust and later from Trump’s personal account.
Because the reimbursements ran monthly across 2017, each cycle generated a fresh invoice, a new ledger entry, and another check. Prosecutors used that volume to argue the scheme was deliberate and sustained rather than a one-time error.2Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. D.A. Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Trial Conviction of Donald J. Trump
The Sentence
On January 10, 2025, ten days before Trump’s second inauguration, Justice Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge. Under New York law, that is a final judgment of conviction with no prison time, no fine, and no probation. The conviction stays on the record; nothing else attaches.
Justice Merchan said the unconditional discharge was “the only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without encroaching on the highest office of the land.” He stated that an ordinary defendant convicted of 34 felonies would not receive the same treatment, and that the leniency flowed from the presidency rather than from the facts of the case.
Where the Case Stands Now
Trump filed a direct appeal in New York’s Appellate Division in October 2025, asking the court to overturn the verdict on the merits. That appeal is pending.
He has also sought to move the case from state to federal court, arguing some of the prosecution’s evidence involved official presidential acts protected by presidential immunity. A federal district judge initially denied the transfer. In November 2025, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to District Judge Alvin Hellerstein with instructions to reconsider the question. Judge Hellerstein heard oral arguments in February 2026 and had not ruled as of early 2026. The conviction remains intact unless a court orders otherwise.