Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to 5 months in prison

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Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, was sentenced Tuesday to five months behind bars for his role in the company’s 15-year tax fraud scheme.

Weisselberg, 75, was sentenced in accordance with his guilty plea in an appearance before acting Justice Juan Merchan in New York criminal court and was taken to New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail immediately after the trial.

Considering the standard length of time off for good behavior, Weisselberg will likely serve about 100 days.

He also paid more than $2 million in taxes and fines and will remain on probation for five years.

Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg leaves the New York Supreme Court in New York City on Nov. 17. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images file

As part of his deal with prosecutors, Weisselberg could have faced additional time behind bars if he did not testify truthfully at trial, which ended with the Trump Organizations being convicted on all counts.

There were no public court filings suggesting that Weisselberg’s testimony was false, and prosecutors did not ask the judge to revisit the agreed sentence.

People believe that Mr. Weisselberg provided truthful testimony, New York County Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger told the judge. He satisfied the terms of his plea agreement.

Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante Jr., said Weisselberg “paid dearly” for his crimes and asked the judge if he would consider further reducing his sentence in some form.

Merchan refused.

I believe a harsher sentence may be appropriate when the evidence in the case is heard, Merchan said, adding that he felt obligated to stick to the agreement he agreed to in August.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Weisselberg’s sentence in a statement. In Manhattan, you have to play by the rules no matter who you are or who you work for,” he said.

Weisselberg was the key witness for the prosecution in the case against former President Donald Trump’s company, describing how top executives and the company evaded paying the taxes they owed. Trump has not been charged with any crime.

The biggest personal beneficiary of the scheme, prosecutors said, was Weisselberg. He collected $1.76 million in indirect employee compensation, including a rent-free apartment, luxury car, private school tuition for his grandchildren and new furniture. Other executives received similar perks and were paid bonuses as independent contractors, saving the company money in payroll taxes.

On the witness stand, Weisselberg said Trump did not know about the scheme. Weisselberg further testified that he is still on the company’s payroll, adding that while he was fired as CFO after he was indicted, his duties and salary remained the same.

Attorneys for the two Trump Organization subsidiaries charged in the case maintained during the trial that Weisselberg was the sole bad actor and that the companies should not be held liable. A jury disagreed.

The panel convicted the companies on all 17 counts last month, including conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsification of business records. The companies face up to $1.6 million in fines when they are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

Gravante told reporters as he left the courthouse Tuesday that Weisselberg regrets the harm his actions have caused to the Trump Organization and members of the Trump family, adding, He thanks them for their continued support throughout the ordeal. that chapter of his life.

If Weisselberg had been found guilty, he could have faced up to 15 years in prison.

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