He also made money, prosecutors said, by offering what amounted to a total of $6 million in personal loans to one taxi operator and collecting interest.
The problem was, the government said, Mr. Cohen did not pay taxes on much of the money he made from the medallions and the loans.
Instead, the government said, he hid millions of dollars in profits in his and his wife’s bank accounts and failed to tell his personal accountant.
Wait, there’s more (including a French handbag).
Mr. Cohen not only disguised the income he earned from his taxi business, prosecutors said, but he also failed to disclose $100,000 he made in 2014 from brokering the sale of a piece of property in “a private aviation community” in Ocala, Fla., and another $30,000 he made from brokering the sale of a Birkin bag, “a highly coveted French handbag,” the government explained.
Then there was the $200,000 in consulting fees that he took in and did not disclose as income from working with “an assisted living company,” prosecutors said, which he gave advice to about real-estate deals.
Enough about Mr. Cohen. What does this mean for the president?
At the moment, it’s hard to say.
Mr. Cohen’s plea agreement with the prosecutors in Manhattan does not require him to cooperate with other pending investigations. But it also does not preclude him in telling what he knows about Mr. Trump to investigators working with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is looking into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Mr. Cohen’s agreement with the government contains a provision that could allow him to receive a significantly reduced sentence. If Mr. Cohen were to substantially assist the special counsel’s investigation, Mr. Mueller could recommend a reduction.
