A New York judge sentenced Allen Weisselberg, former President Donald Trump’s long-time chief financial officer, to five months in jail for his involvement in a decade-long tax fraud scheme.
The 75-year-old testified as the state’s witness against the Trump Organization, and is expected to report to Rikers Island to begin his sentence.
Weisselberg will be placed in an infirmary unit and not have contact with the general population.
Last August, Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 felonies as part of a deal with prosecutors. In addition to waiving his right to appeal, he was required to testify truthfully at the trial of the Trump Organization and pay $2 million in back taxes, interest and penalties.
Weisselberg admitted to receiving off-the-books compensation, including a luxury Manhattan apartment, two Mercedes Benz car leases, parking, utilities, furniture, and private school tuition for his grandchildren, totaling roughly $200,000 in one year without paying taxes.
In August 2020, Allen Weisselberg, former Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to 15 felonies and agreed to waive his right to appeal. He also agreed to pay $2 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties, and to give testimony in the trial of the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg was found to have received roughly $200,000 in untaxed compensation in one year, including a luxury Manhattan apartment, two leased Mercedes Benz cars, parking, utilities, furniture, and private school tuition for his grandchildren.
A judge has sentenced a long-time Trump Org. executive to a punishment fitting what he deemed to be the “most offensive” of the crimes committed by the executive. The crime in question was the fabrication of a fraudulent $6,000 payroll check cut to his wife so she could become eligible for Social Security benefits.
Despite the plea of Weisselberg’s lawyer for a lesser sentence due to his age and other factors, Merchan saw fit to deliver a sentence commensurate with the crime.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office prosecutor said Weisselberg had fulfilled the conditions of his plea agreement and had testified truthfully against two Trump companies in connection to the tax fraud scheme in December.
Last week, Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, paid off the remaining balance of just over $1 million in back taxes and penalties he owed to tax authorities, according to Hoffinger, Weisselberg’s attorney. In total, he paid more than $2 million. On Tuesday, Weisselberg was present at court and his attorney, Nicholas Gravante, spoke on his behalf. Gravante said, “It is obviously a difficult day for him, but it is a day for which he has been preparing for many months, since he entered his plea last August.
Weisselberg came to court today ready to begin his sentence, and he is grateful that it has now begun. He deeply regrets the lapse in judgment that resulted in his conviction, and he regrets it most because of the pain it has caused his loving wife, his sons and wonderful grandchildren.”