NEW YORK (AP) – Donald Trump’s chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to tax violations Thursday in a deal that would require him to testify about illegal business practices at the former president’s company, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Allen Weisselberg is accused of taking more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation from the Trump Organization over several years, including tax-free benefits like rent, car payments and school tuition.
The plea deal would require Weisselberg to speak in court Thursday about the company’s role in the alleged kickback deal and possibly serve as a witness when the Trump Organization goes on trial in October on related charges, the people said.
The two people were not authorized to speak publicly about the case and did so on condition of anonymity.
Weisselberg, 75, is likely to receive a five-month prison sentence, to be served at New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail, and could be ordered to pay about $2 million in restitution, including taxes, fines and interests, people. said. If that sentence stands, Weisselberg would be eligible for parole in about 100 days.
Messages seeking comment were left with the Manhattan district attorney’s office and attorneys for Weisselberg and the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg is the only person facing criminal charges so far in the Manhattan district attorney’s long-running investigation into the company’s business practices.
Seen as one of Trump’s most loyal business associates, Weisselberg was arrested in July 2021. His lawyers have argued that the Democratic-led district attorney’s office was cracking him down because he would not provide incriminating information. Trump.
The district attorney is also investigating whether Trump or his company lied to banks or the government about the value of its properties to get loans or lower tax bills.
Former U.S. Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who launched the investigation, last year directed his deputies to present evidence to a grand jury and seek an indictment of Trump, according to former U.S. Attorney Mark Pomerantz, who first led the investigation.
But after Vance left office, his successor, Alvin Bragg, allowed the grand jury to disband without charges. Both prosecutors are Democrats. Bragg said the investigation is ongoing.
The Trump Organization is not involved in Weisselberg’s expected guilty plea on Thursday and is scheduled to be tried in the alleged compensation scheme in October.
Prosecutors alleged the company provided untaxed benefits to top executives, including Weisselberg, for 15 years. Weisselberg alone was accused of defrauding the federal, state and city governments of more than $900,000 in unpaid taxes and undeserved tax refunds.
Under state law, the sentence for the most serious charge against Weisselberg, grand theft, could carry up to 15 years in prison. But the charge carries no mandatory minimum, and most first-time tax offenders never end up behind bars.
Tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization are punishable by a fine of twice the amount of unpaid taxes, or $250,000, whichever is greater.
Trump has not been charged in the criminal investigation. The Republican has denounced the New York investigation as a “political witch hunt,” saying his company’s actions were standard practice in the real estate business and in no way a crime.
Last week, Trump sat down for a deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ parallel civil investigation into allegations that Trump’s company misled lenders and tax authorities about asset values. Trump invoked Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination more than 400 times.
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