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Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, pleaded not guilty Thursday to tax-related offenses including the scheme for fraud and grand theft in Manhattan court, where the company has also been subject to related criminal charges.
A 15-count indictment says the Trump Organization and Weisselberg devised a plan to compensate Weisselberg and other company executives in an “unofficial” manner, in which they “received significant portions of their income through indirect and disguised means.”
The indictment states that Weiselberg himself paid rent, utilities and garage expenses for his apartment on Riverside Drive on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that the Trump Organization paid without informing the tax authorities of this compensation.
Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, center, walks toward a courtroom in a criminal court in New York, U.S., on Thursday, July 1, 2021.
Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The attorney general said Weiselberg personally “avoided taxes” on damages amounting to $1.76 million as part of a scheme “organised by top executives” at the Trump Organization owned by former President Donald Trump.
Assistant District Attorney for the Manhattan District, Carrie Dunn, said in court that the Weisselberg crimes were part of a “bold and comprehensive illegal payment scheme.”
The indictment against the Trump Organization and Weiselberg said the scheme ran from March 2005 through the end of June.
“This case is not about politics, this is an ongoing investigation, right,” Dunn said.
The Trump Organization and Weisselberg-related entities have been charged with first-degree fraud scheme, fourth-degree conspiracy, third- and fourth-degree criminal tax fraud, and falsification of business records.
“The allegations in the indictment are just allegations,” Trump Organization attorney Alan Wouterfas told reporters outside the court after the trial.
“These accusations will be vigorously challenged,” Wuterfas said.
New York District Attorney Cyrus Roberts Vance Jr. and New York State Attorney General Letitia James arrive in court to hear Allen Weisselberg, former US President Donald Trump’s chief financial officer in Lower Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on July 1, 2021.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
Authorities took Weiselberg, 73, to the courtroom handcuffed while wearing a white mask.
Weisselberg’s lawyer told the judge that the defense team contested the plaintiffs’ claims.
On Wednesday, a grand jury issued an indictment against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization.
The Manhattan DA office of Cyrus Vance Jr. has been investigating the Trump Organization for several years. In recent months, investigators from New York State Attorney General Letitia James have joined his investigation.
James was present with Vance in the courtroom.
Last year, Vance won a legal battle that allowed him to obtain years of former President Trump’s tax records and other financial documents from his old accounting firm.
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The Trump Organization, in a statement, criticized Vance for bringing the case.
“Allen Weissberg is a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather who has worked for the Trump Organization for 48 years,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
“The attorney general in Manhattan is now using him as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former president,” the spokesperson said.
“The attorney general is filing a criminal case for employee benefits that neither the IRS nor any other plaintiff is considering filing. This is not justice; this is policy.”
Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has repeatedly met with Vance’s investigators to assist them in the investigation.
Jennifer Weisselberg, the ex-wife of Weisselberg’s son, provided information to prosecutors. Her ex-husband Barry Weiselberg also works for the Trump Organization.
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Sources 2/ https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNuYmMuY29tLzIwMjEvMDcvMDEvdHJ1bXAtb3JnYW5pemF0aW9uLWNmby1hbGxlbi13ZWlzc2VsYmVyZy1wbGVhZHMtbm90LWd1aWx0eS10by10YXgtY3JpbWVzLmh0bWzSAXFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jbmJjLmNvbS9hbXAvMjAyMS8wNy8wMS90cnVtcC1vcmdhbml6YXRpb24tY2ZvLWFsbGVuLXdlaXNzZWxiZXJnLXBsZWFkcy1ub3QtZ3VpbHR5LXRvLXRheC1jcmltZXMuaHRtbA?oc=5 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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