Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg arrived for his sentencing at New York Supreme Court on Tuesday (Picture: EPA)
Ex-President Donald Trump’s longtime chief financial officer has been sentenced to five months in jail after pleading guilty to tax fraud.
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, 75, had been promised the sentence in a plea deal in August that involved confessing to 15 tax crimes and testifying against the company. His testimony ultimately helped convict the Trump Organization of tax fraud.
Weisselberg must also pay close to $2million in back taxes, penalties and interest and serve five years of probation. He is also required to waive any right to appeal.
Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday said that based on evidence in the case, Weisselberg would have received a sentence ‘much greater’ than five months if he had not entered the plea deal. Weisselberg would have faced a sentence of five to 15 years.
The Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison (Picture: Reuters)
Weisselberg admitted that he and other executives got bonuses and more perks from 2005 to 2017 and that he should have paid taxes on about $200,000 in compensation that was not reported.
The perks he received from the Trump Organization included a luxury apartment in Manhattan with a view of the Hudson River, two Mercedes Benz leases, private school tuition for his grandchildren and payments for utilities and parking.
He is expected to begin serving his time at New York City’s Rikers Island jail, which is notorious for violence, corruption and drugs.
‘You’re going into a byzantine black hole,’ said prison consultant Craig Rothfeld, who is assisting in preparing Weisselberg for the jail.
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is expected to serve his sentence at Riker’s Island jail (Picture: EPA)
Weisselberg worked for the Trump Organization since the mid-1980s and remains on paid leave.
Merchan also presided over the trial of the Trump Organization in December. The company was convicted on all the counts it faced.
Trump was not charged in the case. The guilty verdict against his company was handed down two weeks after he announced his 2024 bid for president.
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