Donald Trump's chief financial officer said Thursday he will plead guilty to tax violations in a deal requiring him to testify about illegal business practices at the former president's company. said two people familiar with the matter. Associated Press.
Allen Weisselberg has earned more than $1.7 million from the Trump Organization over several years, including tax-exempt benefits such as rent, car payments, and school tuition. He has been charged with receiving outside compensation.
The plea deal requires Weisselberg to speak in court on Thursday about the company's role in the alleged compensation agreement, when he faces charges involving the Trump Organization in October. The source said it could serve as a witness.
The two were not authorized to speak publicly about the incident and spoke on the condition of anonymity. He is likely to be sentenced to five months in prison at the infamous Rikers Island complex, and could be asked to pay around $2 million. About his return, including taxes, fines and interest, people said. If that punishment continues, Weisselberg will be eligible for release after about 100 days.
A message seeking comment was left with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and attorneys for Weisselberg and his Organization. it was done.
Weisselberg is the only person ever to face criminal charges in the Manhattan District Attorney's lengthy investigation into the company's business practices.
Weisselberg, who has long been seen as one of Trump's most loyal business associates, was arrested in July 2021. His lawyers argued that the Democratic-led district attorney's office punished him because he failed to provide information that would hurt Trump.
The district attorney is also investigating whether Trump or his company lied to banks or the government about the value of its assets in order to obtain loans or reduce taxes.
The former district attorney who initiated the investigation, Cyrus Vance Jr., said he directed his attorneys to present evidence to a grand jury last year and seek an indictment against Mr Trump, who previously led the investigation. Former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz said.
But after Vance left office, his successor, Alvin Bragg, allowed the grand jury to dismiss him not guilty. Both prosecutors are Democrats. Bragg said the investigation is ongoing.
The Trump Organization was not involved in Weisselberg's guilty plea expected on Thursday and is set to face trial in October over alleged compensation schemes.
Prosecutors For 15 years, officials alleged that the company had provided tax-exempt benefits to senior management, including Weisselberg. In Weisselberg alone, the federal government, states, and cities have accused him of defrauding over $900,000 in unpaid taxes and unfair tax refunds.
Under state law, the most serious charge against Weisselberg, grand theft, could result in him being sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. However, there is no minimum duty imposed on this charge, and most first-time offenders in tax-related cases do not end up in prison.
Tax evasion charges against the Trump Organization are punishable by a fine of twice his unpaid taxes or $250,000, whichever is greater.
Trump has not been charged with a criminal investigation. A Republican denounced the New York investigation as a "political witch hunt" and said his firm's actions were standard practice in the real estate business and in no way criminal. , Trump sat down for depositions in a parallel civil investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James into allegations that Trump's firm misled lenders and tax authorities about property values. Trump has exercised his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination more than 400 times.
___
