Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg Pleads Guilty to Perjury in Ex-President’s Civil Fraud Case – Allen Weisselberg, previously the chief financial officer of Donald Trump’s organization, admitted guilt on Monday in New York for perjury related to his testimony in the former president’s civil fraud case.
The 76-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and faces a five-month jail term, marking his second time behind bars after serving 100 days last year for an unrelated tax fraud matter. The admissions pertained to his testimony during a July 2020 deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump.
However, in court on Monday, he also confessed to lying on the witness stand during the former president’s civil fraud trial last autumn, although he did not formally plead guilty. Prosecutors alleged that Weisselberg perjured himself in the case by denying allegations that Trump misrepresented his wealth on financial documents submitted to banks and insurance firms.
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“Allen Weisselberg looks forward to putting this situation behind him,” his lawyer Seth Rosenberg said in a statement. Following The New York Times’ report last month indicating Weisselberg’s negotiations for pleading guilty to perjury, Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the fraud trial, instructed lawyers to furnish information concerning the Times’ report.
Trump is currently appealing Engoron’s ruling that mandates him to pay over $454 million in fines and interest for submitting fraudulent information regarding his asset values on numerous financial records over the years. Weisselberg’s recent criminal case emerges just weeks before Trump is set to face trial on distinct accusations of falsifying business records.
This case revolves around claims that Trump altered company records to conceal hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign to suppress allegations of extramarital affairs. Trump maintains his innocence, pleading not guilty and refuting any wrongdoing.
Former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen has implicated Weisselberg in orchestrating the payments, though Weisselberg has not faced charges in that matter, and neither prosecutors nor Trump’s legal team have indicated plans to call him as a witness. The trial for this case is slated to commence on March 25.
Weisselberg’s current case is distinct from the criminal case brought against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year. Previously, Weisselberg served a 100-day jail sentence after admitting guilt to tax evasion on $1.7 million in unreported compensation from the Trump Organization. He remains on probation. Prior to this, he had no criminal record.
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He departed New York City’s Rikers Island in April, shortly after Trump was indicted in his New York hush money criminal case. As part of the plea agreement, Weisselberg was obligated to testify as a prosecution witness during the Trump Organization’s trial for aiding executives in tax evasion. He did so cautiously, detailing his own involvement in tax evasion while avoiding implicating Trump, affirming to jurors that his boss was unaware of the scheme.