Former CFO of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, was sentenced to five months in jail for his role in a decades-long tax fraud scheme after testifying as New York state’s star witness against the former President’s real estate company.
The 75-year-old Weisselberg is expected to report to Rikers Island to serve his sentence immediately.
He had pleaded guilty in August to 15 felonies in a deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, he was required to testify at the trial of the Trump Organization, pay $2 million in back taxes, interest and penalties, and waive any right to appeal.
Weisselberg admitted he should have paid taxes on off-the-books compensation, totaling roughly $200,000 in one year, which included a luxury Manhattan apartment, two Mercedes Benz leases, parking, utilities, furniture and private school tuition for his grandchildren.
The Trump Organization’s legal challenges in New York don’t end with Weisselberg’s sentencing, however. New York Attorney General Letitia James is fighting a $250 million fraud lawsuit against the company, at which Weisselberg is expected to testify.
James has alleged that former President Trump, his three eldest children, Weisselberg and others defrauded lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of multiple Trump Organization properties for more than a decade.
In his testimony at the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial late last year, Weisselberg said he conspired with others at the company and described conversations he had with Trump and sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. However, he told the jury when questioned by Trump attorneys that he did not scheme or conspire with anybody in the Trump family.
A Manhattan jury in December found two companies under the Trump Organization—the Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp.—guilty on multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The conviction was connected to a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by failing to report and pay taxes on compensation for top executives. The Trump Organization now faces up to $1.6 million in fines.
Former President Trump, who in November announced he was running for reelection in 2024, has denied any wrongdoing and said he is being targeted because of politics.
