Allen Weisselberg.Photo: John Minchillo/AP Photo
Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, turned himself in to authorities last June, after prosecutors accused him of being part of the alleged tax fraud scheme.
From left: Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump Jr.TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty
The Manhattan district attorney’s filing called Weisselberg “one of the largest individual beneficiaries” of the alleged tax scheme. The Trump Organization is accused of paying for the rent of Weisselberg’s apartment on Riverside Boulevard as well as his utilities, garage expenses and his grandchildren’s tuition, prosecutors said.
The New York Timesreports that the plea deal is not expected to require that Weisselberg cooperate with an investigation into former PresidentDonald Trump.
According to theTimes, Weisselberg, 75, would have faced up to 15 years in prison but a deal with prosecutors could reduce that sentence to 100 days behind bars.
A hearing in the case is reportedly scheduled for Thursday, after Weisselberg and his attorneys met with a judge, theTimesreports. The outlet adds that prosecutors had been hopeful they could persuade Weisselberg to testify against Trump, but he has refused.
Weisselberg has been with the company for 48 years, according to the Trump Organization. He most recently helped run the business alongside Eric and Donald Trump Jr. while their father was president.
The former president, 76, has not been charged and his company has decried the case against Weisselberg as part of a strategy to target him.
The investigations have centered on whether the Trump Organization undervalued or overvalued its property in order to obtain loans and more favorable tax breaks, according to theTimes.
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The former president faces a growing list of legal problems now that he’s no longer in office, including lawsuits over his push to somehow overturn the 2020 election results in his favor and the ongoing New York investigations.
Last week, reports surfaced that Trump is being investigated forpotentially obstructing justice and violating the Espionage Act, according to a now-publicsearch warrant executed at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago homerecently.
An inventory of the items taken in the search shows 11 sets of classified documents. Some were marked as top secret, which theWall Street Journalnotes should only be available in special government facilities.
source: people.com
