Allen Weisselberg Former Trump Organization Cfo Pleads Guilty To Fraud Agrees To Testify Against Company

Weiselberg, 75, entered the plea in a Manhattan courtroom where he admitted his crimes and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the criminal case against two Trump Organization entities. Weiselberg was indicted in July 2021 along with Trump Organization affiliates that prosecutors allege participated in the scheme, which allegedly benefited other company executives. The company has pleaded not guilty and jury selection for its trial is scheduled for Oct. 24. “This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activities and requires Weiselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the company,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “Furthermore, thanks to the incredibly hard work and dedication of the team prosecuting this case, Weisselberg will spend time behind bars. We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization.” Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg appears in court Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in New York. Yuki Iwamura / AP Weisselberg’s plea deal with prosecutors calls for a five-month sentence at New York’s Rikers Island prison, followed by five years of probation. He must also pay $1.9 million in taxes and penalties, and testify under oath as a witness in the company’s trial. He has not agreed to provide new or additional information about Trump or the company that bears his name, according to sources familiar with the matter. Weiselberg will be sentenced at the end of the Trump Organization trial, and prosecutors will seek state prison if he does not abide by the terms of the deal, Bragg said. The judge will make the final sentencing decision. Trump has not been charged in the case and previously denounced the investigation as a “witch hunt.” Nicholas Gravante Jr., Weiselberg’s attorney, said the former executive’s move to accept a plea deal was “one of the most difficult decisions of his life.” “Mr. Weiselberg decided to plead guilty today to end this case and the years of legal and personal nightmares it has caused him and his family,” Gravante said. “Rather than risk the possibility of 15 years in prison, he agreed to serve 100 days. We’re glad to have that behind him.” New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is overseeing its own political investigation into the former president’s business dealings, said the plea demonstrates that authorities “will crack down on anyone who steals from the public for personal gain, because no one he is above the law. “ A courtroom sketch shows Allen Weiselberg in a Manhattan courtroom accepting a guilty plea Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Jane Rosenberg Weisselberg and the company were indicted by a grand jury in July 2021. The indictment alleged that the company and Weisselberg funneled “indirect employee compensation” to the longtime executive beginning in 2005 through payments for his Manhattan apartment, luxury car leases, school fees for family members and other personal expenses. The company did not file the payments with tax authorities, prosecutors said. “It was orchestrated by the most senior executives, who financially benefited themselves and the company by taking secret pay raises at the expense of state and federal taxpayers,” Carey Dunne, then an assistant district attorney, told the judge. court hearing last year. Weiselberg began working for Trump in 1973 and was removed as an officer at several affiliates after he was indicted last year. Weisselberg and the company asked New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan in February to dismiss all 15 charges against them. On August 12, Merchan dismissed one of the tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization, but allowed 14 others to remain. No charges against Weisselberg were dismissed. Nathalie Nieves contributed reporting.

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