Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 of the charges he had in the case. He was accused of evading taxes on extravagant fringe benefits he got from the company, including lease payments for a luxury car, rent for a Manhattan apartment, and private school tuition for his grandchildren.
Weisselberg is the only person to face criminal charges so far in the Manhattan district attorney’s long-running probe of the company’s business practices.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan decided to condemn Weisselberg to five months in prison and five years of probation at New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex, although he will be fit for release much earlier if he conducts himself well behind bars. The judge said Weisselberg would have to pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties, and interest.
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The plea deal also requires Weisselberg to testify honestly as a prosecution witness when the Trump Organization goes on trial in October on related charges. The company is accused of helping Weisselberg, and other executives avoid income taxes by failing to report their full compensation to the government accurately. Trump is not charged in the case.
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Testimony by Weisselberg could essentially weaken the Trump Organization’s defense. If sentenced, the company could face fines or potentially be placed on probation and be forced to change certain business practices.
Weisselberg’s lawyer Nicholas Gravante Jr. said his client pleaded guilty “to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family.”
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Weisselberg’s request “directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the corporation.” “We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization,” he added.
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The company hailed Weisselberg on Thursday as a trusted, reliable employee who it said has been “persecuted and threatened by law enforcement, particularly the Manhattan district attorney, in their never-ending, politically motivated quest to get President Trump.”
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In a statement, the company accused prosecutors of trying to urge Weisselberg to cast slanders on Trump, and of stretching to make a criminal case out of familiar executive perks such as a company car.
The company, which was not involved in Weisselberg’s guilty plea Thursday, said it has done nothing wrong, won’t plead guilty, and looks forward “to having our day in court.”
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