Photo: Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 felonies that prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office accused him of and, in exchange, will be sentenced to 5 months in jail and 5 years probation.
TheTimesreports that Weisselberg has previously refused to cooperate with prosecutors in their investigation into Trump and his family, though his deal will require him to testify about the scheme in afuture trialin the criminal case against the Trump Organization, if he is called as a witness.
Weisselberg, the indictment says, was “one of the largest individual beneficiaries” of the scheme, and allegedly received “indirect employee compensation from the Trump Organization in the approximate amount of $1.76 million.”
The indictment claims that Weisselberg and The Trump Organization avoided reporting the total compensation to tax authorities.
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.
According to theTimes, Weisselberg would have faced up to 15 years in prison were it not for the plea deal.
REPORT:Longtime Trump Organization Executive Is Nearing a Plea Deal on Tax Fraud Charges: Report
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.
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.
Donald Trump, 76, has not been charged and his company has decried the case against Weisselberg as part of a strategy to target him.
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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.
Trump is also facing lawsuits over his push to overturn the 2020 election results in his favor as well as investigation into whether hepotentially obstructed justice and violated the Espionage Act, according to a now-publicsearch warrant executed at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago homerecently.
source: people.com
