Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty Thursday to 15 counts of fraud and tax evasion, admitting to being a part of a scheme to obtain more than $1.7 million in off-the-books perks and compensation from former President Donald Trump’s namesake corporation.
Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty in a Manhattan courtroom, admitting guilt and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors in the criminal case against two Trump Organization corporations.
Weisselberg was charged in July 2021, along with two Trump Organization businesses, with participating in the scam, which authorities said benefited other company leaders. The corporation has pleaded not guilty, and the jury selection for its trial is set for October 24.
In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, “This plea agreement immediately implicates the Trump Organization in a wide spectrum of illegal activities and compels Weisselberg to deliver vital testimony in the impending trial against the organization.” “Furthermore, Weisselberg will be imprisoned as a result of the extraordinarily hard work and dedication of the team prosecuting this case. We are eager to present our case against the Trump Organization in court.”
Allen Weisselberg, former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, enters in court on Thursday, August 18, 2022, in New York.
AP YUKI IWAMURA
Weisselberg’s plea agreement with prosecutors asks for a five-month sentence in New York’s Rikers Island jail, followed by five years of probation. He must also pay $1.9 million in unpaid taxes and fines, as well as testify under oath during the company’s trial. According to those acquainted with the situation, he has not consented to disclose any fresh or further information regarding Trump or the corporation that bears his name.
Weisselberg will be sentenced at the completion of the Trump Organization trial, and prosecutors will seek state prison time if he fails to follow the terms of the agreement, according to Bragg.
Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante Jr., described the former executive’s decision to accept a plea offer as “one of the most difficult decisions of his life.”
“Mr. Weisselberg decided to enter a guilty plea today to end this lawsuit and the years of legal and personal horrors it has brought him and his family,” Gravante said. “Rather of risking 15 years in prison, he has agreed to serve 100 days. We are relieved that this is now behind him.”
The plea illustrates that authorities “will crack down on anyone who steals from the public for personal gain because no one is above the law,” according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is leading its own civil investigation into the former president’s economic transactions.
A grand jury charged Weisselberg and the corporation in July 2021. Beginning in 2005, the business and Weisselberg allegedly routed “indirect employee remuneration” to the longstanding CEO through payments for his Manhattan residence, expensive automobile leases, school tuition for family members, and other personal costs, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said that the corporation neglected to register the payments to tax authorities.
Trump was not charged in the case and has repeatedly referred to it as a “witch hunt.”
“It was orchestrated by the most senior executives, who were financially enriching themselves and the firm by receiving hidden pay rises at the expense of state and federal taxpayers,” Carey Dunne, an assistant district attorney at the time, told the judge last year during a court hearing.
In February, Weisselberg and the business urged New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss all 15 accusations against them. Merchan dismissed one of the tax fraud accusations against the Trump Organization on August 12, but left 14 others to stand. No charges were dropped against Weisselberg.
Nathalie Nieves provided reporting.