Politics

Paul Manafort could spend the rest of his life in prison. Here are the charges the former Trump campaign boss faces as the case goes to the jury

Key Points
  • Prosecutors and defense attorneys on Wednesday delivered their closing arguments to jurors on the 12th day of the criminal trial against President Donald Trump's ex-campaign chairman.
  • Manafort faces 18 counts lodged by prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
  • A verdict in the trial could be coming as soon as this week.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives for a hearing at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse on April 19, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Getty Images

Paul Manafort's fraud and conspiracy trial is rounding the final bend.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys on Wednesday delivered their closing arguments to jurors on the 12th day of the criminal trial against President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.

From there, jurors in the U.S. District Court case in Alexandria, Va., will begin considering the 27 witnesses and more than 360 exhibits presented by prosecutors. Jurors are set to begin deliberating at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.

A verdict in the trial — the first borne of charges from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe — could be coming as soon as this week.

Manafort, 69, has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts lodged by Mueller's team.

Here are the charges he faces:

Subscribing to false income tax returns

Number of counts: 5
Maximum prison sentence per count: 3 years

In an indictment unveiled in February against Manafort and his former business partner, Rick Gates, the special counsel laid out what it described as a years-long "tax scheme" intended to lower Manafort's tax bills by hiding his income from U.S. authorities.

Manafort worked for years in the 2000s as a consultant for former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych's pro-Russian Party of Regions. The tens of millions of dollars he earned for this work were put in foreign accounts, and Manafort used that money to fund a lavish lifestyle primarily through international wire transfers, Mueller alleges.

Manafort is accused of failing to report this income on his income tax returns, and falsely claiming he had no authority over those foreign accounts.

Failing to file foreign bank account reports

Number of counts: 4
Maximum prison sentence per count: 5 years

From 2011 to 2014, Manafort allegedly failed to file foreign bank account reports, known as FBARs, with the Treasury Department to disclose his control over his overseas accounts.

Bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy

Number of counts: 4 counts of bank fraud; 5 counts of bank fraud conspiracy
Maximum prison sentence per count: 30 years

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Manafort resorted to bank fraud to obtain loans for himself after Yanukovych was deposed as the leader of Ukraine in 2014, which dried up Manafort's lucrative stream of income.

Manafort and Gates are accused of defrauding U.S. banks and other lenders by lying about Manafort's income, debt and the nature of his real estate properties.

Prosecutors also allege Manafort and Gates knowingly doctored financial documents. One of Manafort's accountants testified under immunity during the trial that she had been asked to misrepresent Manafort's income by Gates.

The indictment alleges Manafort falsely claimed that a New York City condo was "owner-occupied" instead of rented in order to get more money when applying for a $3.4 million mortgage in late 2015.

It also says Manafort defrauded another lender by falsely overstating the 2015 income of one his businesses by more than $4 million, among other charges.

WATCH: Rick Gates admits to committing crimes with Paul Manafort

Rick Gates has admitted to committing crimes with Paul Manafort
VIDEO1:0301:03
Rick Gates has admitted to committing crimes with Paul Manafort