Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization financial chief, pleads guilty to tax fraud
Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of Donald Trump’s company and one of his most trusted executives, pleaded guilty to tax violations on Thursday, further complicating the former president’s legal woes.
Weisselberg, 75, has worked for the Trump family for five decades. He was charged with accepting more than $1.7m in off-the-books compensation from the former president’s company, including untaxed perks like rent, car payments and school tuition.
Quizzed repeatedly by judge Juan Merchan about whether he and the Trump Organization had committed criminal conduct in relation to the charges, Weisselberg repeated again and again: “Yes, your honor.”
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 charges and faced a 15-year sentence. Under the agreement, he is expected to serve a five-month prison term at New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail. He will also have to pay back close to $2m in taxes he owed, prosecutors said in court.
The Trump Organization is preparing to go to trial in October, facing similar charges of illicit business practices, and as part of the agreement, Weisselberg has agreed to testify against the company. He has refused to testify against Trump himself.
Last week, Trump sat for a deposition in the parallel civil investigation by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, into allegations that Trump’s company misled lenders and tax authorities about asset values. Trump invoked his fifth amendment protection against self-incrimination more than 400 times.