Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

21 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

23 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

23 hours ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

1 day ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

1 day ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

2 days ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

2 days ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
Trump Organization CFO Pleads Guilty in Tax Evasion Case
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
August 18, 2022

Share

 

A top executive at former President Donald Trump’s family business pleaded guilty Thursday to evading taxes in a deal with prosecutors that could make him a star witness against the company at a trial this fall.

Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 of the charges he faced in the case.

In a low, somewhat hoarse voice, he admitted taking in over $1.7 million worth of untaxed perks — including school tuition for his grandchildren, free rent for a Manhattan apartment and lease payments for a luxury car — and explicitly keeping some of the plums off the books.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to sentence Weisselberg to five months in New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex, although he will be eligible for release much earlier if he behaves well behind bars. The judge said Weisselberg will have to pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest and complete five years of probation.

The plea bargain also requires Weisselberg to testify truthfully as a prosecution witness when the Trump Organization goes on trial in October on related charges. The company is accused of helping Weisselberg and other executives avoid income taxes by failing to report their full compensation accurately to the government. Trump himself is not charged in the case.

Weisselberg said nothing as he left court, offering no reply when a journalist asked whether he had any message for Trump.

Weisselberg’s lawyer Nicholas Gravante Jr. said his client pleaded guilty “to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family.”

“We are glad to have this behind him,” the lawyer added.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Weisselberg’s plea “directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the corporation.”

“We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization,” he added.

Testimony by Weisselberg could potentially weaken the Trump Organization’s defense. If convicted, the company could face fines or potentially be placed on probation and be forced to change certain business practices.

Messages were sent to a lawyer and spokesperson for the company seeking comment on Weisselberg’s plea.

Weisselberg, 75, is the only person to face criminal charges so far in the Manhattan district attorney’s long-running investigation of the company’s business practices.

Seen as one of Trump’s most loyal business associates, Weisselberg was arrested in July 2021. His lawyers have argued the Democrat-led district attorney’s office was punishing him because he wouldn’t offer information that would damage Trump.

The district attorney has also been investigating whether Trump or his company lied to banks or the government about the value of its properties to obtain loans or reduce tax bills.

Then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who started the investigation, last year directed his deputies to present evidence to a grand jury and seek an indictment of Trump, according to former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who previously led the probe.

But after Vance left office, his successor, Bragg, allowed the grand jury to disband without charges. Both prosecutors are Democrats. Bragg has said the investigation is continuing.

The Trump Organization is not involved in Weisselberg’s guilty plea Thursday and is scheduled to be tried in the alleged compensation scheme in October.

Prosecutors alleged that the company gave untaxed fringe benefits to senior executives, including Weisselberg, for 15 years. Weisselberg alone was accused of defrauding the federal government, state and city out of more than $900,000 in unpaid taxes and undeserved tax refunds.

Under state law, punishment for the most serious charge against Weisselberg, grand larceny, could carry a penalty as high as 15 years in prison. But the charge carries no mandatory minimum, and most first-time offenders in tax-related cases never end up behind bars.

His sentencing won’t happen until after the trial of the Trump Organization, which is facing tax fraud charges punishable by a fine of double the amount of unpaid taxes, or $250,000, whichever is larger.

Trump has decried the New York investigations as a “political witch hunt” and has said his company’s actions were standard practice in the real estate business and in no way a crime.

Last week, Trump sat for a deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ parallel civil investigation into allegations that Trump’s company misled lenders and tax authorities about asset values. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination more than 400 times.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

DON'T MISS

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

DON'T MISS

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

DON'T MISS

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

DON'T MISS

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

What Is Juneteenth and When Did It Become a US Federal Holiday?

UP NEXT

US B-2 Bombers, Bunker-Busters and Alternatives

UP NEXT

US Social Security, Medicare to Run Short of Funds in 2033, Trustees Say

UP NEXT

How Close Is Iran to Having Nuclear Weapons?

UP NEXT

Nippon Steel’s Purchase of US Steel Closes, With Big Role for Trump

UP NEXT

‘Who’s Running the White House?’ Trump Brings Back ICE Raids on Farms, Restaurants

UP NEXT

Houthi Official Says Group Will Intervene to Support Iran Against Israel

UP NEXT

Obama Steps Back Into Public Eye at a Stormy Political Moment

UP NEXT

Trump Says US Won’t Kill Iranian Leader ‘for Now’ as Israel-Iran Air War Rages On

UP NEXT

Israel Says Attacks on Iran Are Nothing Compared With What Is Coming

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

15 hours ago

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

16 hours ago

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

16 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

16 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

16 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

16 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

17 hours ago

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

18 hours ago

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

18 hours ago

Trump Says US Could Reach Trade Deal With India, Casts Doubt on Deal With Japan

18 hours ago

Wall Street Edges Down After ADP Shock. Focus on Trade Talks, Payrolls Data

U.S. stocks nudged lower on Wednesday as surprisingly weak U.S. private jobs data raised concerns about the labor market, while investors cl...

1 minute ago

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon)
1 minute ago

Wall Street Edges Down After ADP Shock. Focus on Trade Talks, Payrolls Data

Sean "Diddy" Combs and his attorney Marc Agnifilo discuss with other defense lawyers on how to respond to a new note sent by jurors, during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., July 1, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
7 minutes ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Convicted on Prostitution Counts, but Cleared of More Serious Charges

15 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

An Israeli military convoy manoeuvres near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
15 hours ago

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

Abel Joel Garcia Zarate, 39, of Biola, was arrested Sunday, June, 30, 2025, in Madera County on suspicion of starting a wildfire just hours after crews responded to a separate blaze sparked by farm equipment. (Madera County SO)
16 hours ago

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

16 hours ago

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERSStringerFile Photo
16 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

16 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend