The former chief financial officer of the Trump organization, Allen Weisselberg, has admitted to a New York court that he used ex-President Donald Trump’s company to evade taxes. The 75-year-old responded to numerous questions from judge Juan Merchan several times with “Yes, your honor,” as 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. In return, Weisselberg must testify against the company in the trial if the public prosecutor wants to summon him, but not against Trump himself. Weisselberg has to 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.
The Weisselberg case is something of a by-product of the criminal investigation into Trump himself that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office launched three years ago and is still ongoing. Among other things, it is about the accusation that the real estate group is said to have doctored its balance sheets for years in order to systematically defraud banks, insurance companies and tax authorities. New York Attorney General James is also investigating the same matter under civil law against the ex-president. In a survey last Wednesday, however, Trump exercised his right to remain silent. He accuses the Democrat James of investigating him for political reasons. Weisselberg’s lawyers argue similarly. They claim that their client only has to appear in court because he has been in the service of a politically undesirable businessman for decades. In addition, a New York State court could not consider a case in which the IRS was the alleged injured party. Sequel follows.