If there are two justice systems, it's one for the rich and one for the poor. The fact that an underling rather than Trump was charged tells you all you need to know about that. If it were any other poor schlub of a business owner keeping two sets of books, they'd have charged him already. But because Trump is a billionaire with access to the best lawyers, they won't bring charges against him until they are rock solid and bulletproof.
If you're interested in more info, here's the actual indictment:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... tment.html
Here's the penal code the Trump org is accused of violating:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/190.65
This would be a class E felony, with a minimum sentence of a slap-on-the-wrist and a maximum of 5 years jail time. In theory, 15 counts sentenced to the max with consecutive sentences could result in a maximum of 75 years of jail time, though that is highly unlikely. I do think jail time is very possible in a case like this but you're talking maybe a year or two at most, with straight probation being a strong possibility as well. It depends on how good the evidence is and how egregious the facts are.
If you want further evidence of how biased the system is against poor people, consider why a rich person crime like a scheme to cheat on taxes involving hundreds of thousands if not millions is only a class E felony with a max of 5 years in prison, but poor people crime like grand larceny is a class C felony with a max of 15 years in prison. Both are mere crimes of property involving similar amounts of money, but the one poor people do most often can be punished three times more harshly than the one rich people do most often.
I also find it ironic that all these "law and order" Trump supporter types are suddenly not about law and order when their own guy gets investigated for tax fraud.
