Longtime Trump executive Weisselberg to plead guilty in tax fraud scheme
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[August 18, 2022]
By Karen Freifeld
(Reuters) - A longtime senior executive at
former President Donald Trump's family business is expected to plead
guilty on Thursday to conspiring with the company in a 15-year tax
fraud.
Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at the Trump
Organization, is expected to enter his plea before Justice Juan Merchan
in a New York state court in Manhattan.
He is not expected to cooperate with Manhattan prosecutors, including in
a larger probe of Trump himself, though he could be required to testify
against the Trump Organization at trial, a person familiar with the
matter said.
A grand jury last year indicted Weisselberg, 75, for concealing $1.76
million of "off-the-books" income.
That included rent for a Manhattan apartment, lease payments for two
Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and tuition for family members, with Trump
himself signing the checks for the tuition.
Weisselberg will likely be sentenced to five months in jail and could be
freed after about 100 days, another person familiar with the matter
said.
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That's far shorter than the many years in state prison he could face if,
rather than pleading guilty, he were convicted at trial of the charges
against him, which include grand larceny, scheming to defraud,
conspiracy, tax fraud, and falsifying business records.
Weisselberg is expected to plead guilty to all the charges he faces, the
second person said.
A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to
comment. A lawyer for Weisselberg and a spokeswoman for the Trump
Organization declined comment.
Last Friday, Merchan denied defense motions to dismiss the indictment,
rejecting arguments that the defendants had been "selectively
prosecuted" and that Weisselberg was targeted because he would not turn
on his longtime boss.
Trump's company manages golf clubs, hotels and other real estate around
the world.
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![](../images/081822PIX/news_r41.jpg)
Allen Howard Weisselberg, Trump
Organization former CFO, departs criminal court after a hearing for
his tax evasion case in New York City, U.S., August 12, 2022.
REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo
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The company has pleaded not guilty, and could face fines and other
penalties if convicted at trial.
Jury selection begins on Oct. 24, fifteen days before the Nov. 8
midterm election, where Trump's Republican Party hopes to recapture
both houses of Congress from Democrats.
Trump has not been charged, and has yet to say whether he plans
another White House run in 2024.
Weisselberg has worked for Trump for about a half-century.
He gave up the CFO job after he and the Trump Organization were
indicted in July 2021, but remains on Trump's payroll as a senior
adviser.
The indictment arose from an investigation by former Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus Vance, but lost steam after Bragg became
district attorney in January.
Two prosecutors who had been leading the investigation resigned in
February, with one saying felony charges should be brought against
Trump, but that Bragg indicated he had doubts.
Trump faces many other legal battles.
Last week, FBI agents searched the former U.S. president's home for
classified and other documents from his time in office.
Two days later, Trump was deposed in New York Attorney General
Letitia James' civil probe into his business but repeatedly refused
to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment U.S. Constitutional
right against self-incrimination.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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