Status: 08/18/2022 9:00 p.m
The ex-CFO of the Trump Organization has admitted to evading taxes with Donald Trump’s family business. The admission obliges Weisselberg to testify about the company’s business practices at the trial.
The former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, has admitted in a New York court to having evaded taxes with ex-President Donald Trump’s company for more than 15 years. The 75-year-old responded to numerous questions from judge Juan Merchan several times with “Yes, your honor,” US media reported unanimously from the courtroom.
Accordingly, he pleaded guilty to a total of 15 charges – including conspiracy, tax fraud, grand theft and falsifying business documents. With his guilty plea, the top manager agreed to an agreement in the criminal proceedings in order to avoid a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
$2 million fine
In return, Weisselberg must testify against the company in the trial if the public prosecutor wants to summon him – but not against Trump himself. He must also pay a fine of almost two million US dollars (1.98 million euros) and serve five months in prison.
“In one of the most difficult decisions of his life, Mr. Weisselberg decided today to plead guilty to put an end to this case and the years of legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family,” said his Lawyer Nicholas Gravante Jr, according to media reports.
Weisselberg is considered a key figure
Weisselberg is a longtime business partner of Trump. During his presidency, he helped run Trump’s real estate empire. Alongside family members, he is regarded as a key figure in the company. “The confession directly implicates the Trump Organization in a broad spectrum of criminal activity,” prosecutor Alvin Bragg said.
Weisselberg and the Trump Organization, which manages golf clubs, hotels and other properties around the world, were charged in early July 2021 with a sweeping tax fraud spree. Trump himself has not been charged.
Jury selection for the trial begins Oct. 24 — 15 days before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican Party hopes to retake the chambers of Congress. A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization said the ex-executive, who worked for Trump for half a century, was “harassed, stalked and threatened by law enforcement in their never-ending, politically motivated bid to get President Trump.” The company did nothing wrong, she added.