Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, sentenced to five months in jail for perjury charges, admitted to testifying falsely in Donald Trump’s civil fraud case. Weisselberg faced five counts of perjury, but a plea deal saw him plead guilty to two felony counts linked to his 2020 deposition with the attorney general’s office.
Despite admitting false testimony during the civil fraud trial, those charges weren’t part of his guilty plea. He misrepresented his knowledge of Trump’s triplex apartment size and its inflated value on financial statements. This prompted prosecutors to recommend a five-month jail term as part of the agreement.
Allen Weisselberg Sentenced to Five Months in Prison for Perjury
According to his recent agreement with prosecutors, Weisselberg did not plead guilty to perjury at Trump’s civil fraud trial over the triplex. Moreover, the parties agreed he wouldn’t be sentenced for that conduct, which they considered a violation of his parole in connection to his 2022 guilty plea.
After the sentence was handed down, Weisselberg was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom. He now serves time in Rikers Island, the notorious New York City jail. Notably, this marks Weisselberg’s second guilty plea following his 2022 admission to 15 counts of tax fraud.
Moreover, he testified in the trial of two Trump Organization entities and served roughly four months in prison. Weisselberg’s involvement in plea talks with Manhattan prosecutors shows the ongoing scrutiny surrounding his testimony during investigations into the former president’s affairs.
Weisselberg Silent on Trump: No Testimony Expected in Hush Money Case
Sources reveal that as part of the plea talks, Allen Weisselberg cannot testify against Donald Trump in the New York criminal hush money case. Trump, on the other hand, faces indictment on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments and reimbursements before the 2016 presidential election.
While Weisselberg played a crucial role in the financial transactions, neither prosecutors nor Trump’s legal team intend to call him a witness. Notably, Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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He remains silent despite Weisselberg’s involvement in arranging reimbursements to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer. Initially under federal scrutiny, the hush money payment led to limited immunity for Cohen’s testimony before a federal grand jury, which ultimately resulted in charges against Cohen.
“Because the Trump Organization is a privately held company, had I remained silent and stayed on Donald’s desired messaging, none of this would have been exposed,” Cohen told CNN. Notably, in 2018, Cohen was investigated by federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
At that time, he did not cooperate with the federal investigation. However, he cooperated with the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation and will testify against Trump at the trial later this month. On the other hand, Trump maintains his innocence, denying any involvement in the affair alleged by Stormy Daniels.
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Louis Solomon Confromts Allen Weisselberg with Emails
At trial, a lawyer with the New York AG’s office, Louis Solomon, confronted Weisselberg with emails from Forbes magazine. Louis Solomon sought clarity about the apartment’s size, and a letter was signed by Weisselberg approving the excessive square footage to the Trump Organization’s accountant, Mazars USA.
“Forbes was right; the triplex was actually only 10,996, right?” Solomon asked. “Right,” Weisselberg finally conceded. As earlier mentioned, if Weisselberg pleads guilty to a perjury charge, it would mark his second criminal conviction.
Currently, Trump awaits a verdict in a $370 million civil fraud trial in New York that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that propelled him to the White House.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump, his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and other top Trump Organization executives of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate Trump’s net worth to get more favorable loan terms.
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