(New York) The former Trump Organization chief financial officer, who is close to Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud and tax evasion and will have to testify during the trial against the company, according to a press release from the Manhattan Attorney General’s office.
Posted at 1:05 pm.
The statement said Allen Weissberg pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud and tax evasion involving $1.76 million in unreported income between 2005 and 2021.
The 75-year-old invisible man, who has worked for the Trump family since 1973, is accused by the courts of having benefited in kind, in particular an apartment in an upscale Manhattan neighborhood, renting two Mercedes for him and his wife, and having received cash for his vacation, hiding it all from the taxes levies.
“Today, Allen Weisselberg admitted in court to using his position in the Trump Organization to defraud taxpayers and personally enrich himself,” Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg said in the statement.
“The settlement reached with the court directly links the Trump Organization to a wide range of criminal activities and requires Mr. Weisselberg to provide valuable testimony in the upcoming trial against the company,” he added.
Initially, Allen Weisselberg pleaded not guilty in July 2021 to the charges and risked up to 15 years in prison.
Under the agreement, he now faces only five months in prison and will have to pay nearly $2 million in taxes, with fines and interest, according to the press release.
Allen Weisselberg has refused to testify against Donald Trump personally until now.
A criminal trial against the Trump Organization, which the company has pleaded not guilty, is due to begin on October 24.
There is another investigation, this time in a civil case but related to the same suspicions of financial and tax fraud at the Trump Organization, led by New York State Attorney General, Letitia James.
In this context, Donald Trump had to testify under oath last week, but he refused to answer questions under 5e Amendment of the US Constitution, which allows any litigant not to testify against himself.
In another case, Donald Trump’s Florida home was raided last week.
FBI investigators suspect the Republican has violated the US Espionage Act that strictly regulates the possession of classified national security documents, some of which must be consulted or seen only in secure buildings, according to court documents.
A parliamentary committee is also seeking to shed light on the role the billionaire played in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
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