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NEW YORK – Allen Weisselberg, the top financial officer at former President Donald Trump’s company, pleaded guilty Thursday to more than a dozen felonies, including tax fraud and theft.
Weisselberg and the Trump Organization were indicted last year by New York authorities who accused them of hiding certain financial compensation as part of a years-long scheme to avoid paying taxes. The case is part of the growing legal maelstrom that still surrounds Trump and his close allies, with local, state and federal authorities scrutinizing everything from his eponymous business to his handling of classified government documents since he left office. .
Appearing in a Manhattan courtroom, Weisselberg, 75, acknowledged his part in the scheme outlined by prosecutors and agreed to testify, if asked, in a pending trial of the company. As part of his deal, Weisselberg, Trump’s close and trusted associate for decades, would spend five months in prison, followed by five years of probation.
The CFO of former President Donald Trump’s company, Allen Weisselberg, appeared in a New York court on August 18, facing more than a dozen felony charges. (Video: AP)
Weisselberg spoke sparingly during the hearing, answering “yes” to affirm his activities and guilt in all respects. His future testimony, however, could prove damaging to the former president’s namesake company, which prosecutors say ran “a broad and audacious illegal payment scheme.”
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Weisselberg’s sentence is contingent on him “testifying truthfully” at the Trump company trial, according to the district attorney’s office.
The plea agreement “directly implicates” the Trump Organization in a “wide range of criminal activity,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“Furthermore, thanks to the incredibly hard work and dedication of the team prosecuting this case, Weisselberg will spend time behind bars,” Bragg said. “We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization.”
The former president and those close to him have attacked the case, tying it to the junk of other investigations and scrutiny that he routinely characterizes as a “witch hunt” coordinated by Democrats he doesn’t like.
In a statement, his firm called Weisselberg “a fine and honorable man who, over the past 4 years, has been harassed, harassed and threatened by law enforcement, particularly the Manhattan District Attorney, in the his endless politically motivated quest to get President. Trump.”
Weisselberg, according to the company’s statement, pleaded guilty “in an effort to put this matter behind him and move on with his life.” The company pledged that the two corporate entities charged along with Weisselberg would no deal, denying any wrongdoing and said “now we hope to have our day in court”.
Jury selection in the Trump Organization trial is scheduled to begin in late October, which the company noted is “just days before the midterm elections.”
Word that Weisselberg was expected to reach a deal emerged on Monday, his 75th birthday. A person with knowledge of the matter then said who was not expected to help with an ongoing investigation into the former president. Weisselberg’s indictment in July 2021 was in part an effort to secure his cooperation against Trump, people familiar with the strategy said last year.
“In one of the most difficult decisions of his life, Mr. Weisselberg has decided to plead guilty today to end this case and the legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family for years,” he said. said Nicholas. Gravante Jr., Weisselberg’s attorney, said in a statement. “Instead of risking the possibility of 15 years in prison, he has agreed to serve 100 days. We are glad to have this behind us.”
Bragg, who took office earlier this year, has faced public pressure over his office’s investigation into Trump. Two veteran prosecutors involved in the case resigned in protest after learning that Bragg would not authorize them to seek an indictment against the former president. Bragg made a public statement in the spring saying the investigation was ongoing, and his office reiterated that on Thursday.
“For years, Mr. Weisselberg broke the law to line his pockets and fund a lavish lifestyle,” New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who is also investigating Trump and his associates, said in a statement. commercial practices “Today, this misconduct ends. Let this guilty plea send a loud and clear message: We will crack down on anyone who steals from the public for personal gain because no one is above the law.”
The former president, who is said to be planning another bid for the White House, faces heavy legal scrutiny, including investigations looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, his handling of classified documents after leaving office, his taxes and his related actions. to the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol.
Underscoring the series of probes and legal dangers facing the former president and others in his orbit, Weisselberg’s request came on the same day as a hearing in South Florida on whether an affidavit filed earlier of an FBI search of Trump’s residence could be released.
A day earlier, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has worked as Trump’s lawyer, appeared before a Georgia grand jury as part of a criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Giuliani has been informed that he is the target of this investigation, according to his lawyers.
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For Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family for nearly 50 years, the plea deal marks an apparent end to his criminal case that avoids a trial in the heart of Manhattan, which likely would have drawn significant media attention.
In last year’s indictment, Weisselberg was described as “one of the largest individual beneficiaries” of what prosecutors described as a broad and long-running scheme.
The indictment alleges that the Trump Organization paid rent and utilities for a Manhattan apartment where he lived, and financed Mercedes-Benz car rentals for Weisselberg and his wife, but did not testify – it as income and did not pay the necessary taxes. The indictment also said he “intentionally omitted” his compensation from his tax returns.
All told, the indictment said, Weisselberg hid about $1.7 million in his compensation from tax authorities over a period from 2005 to 2017, dodging “hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal, state and local taxes.” locals”.
As part of the settlement mentioned in court, Weisselberg agreed to pay back the taxes he owed, along with penalties and interest. — a total of $1.9 million, the district attorney’s office said. And if he doesn’t live up to the deal, he could face a tougher court-imposed sentence.
Berman reported from Washington. Shayna Jacobs in New York and Josh Dawsey in Washington contributed to this report.