By MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — A top executive at former President Donald Trump’s family business pleaded guilty Thursday to tax evasion in a deal with prosecutors that could make him a star witness against the company in a trial this fall.
Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 charges he faced in the case.
In a low, somewhat hoarse voice, he admitted that he had received more than $1.7 million in untaxed benefits — including school tuition for his grandchildren, free rent for a Manhattan apartment and rent payments for a luxury car – and clearly kept some of the plums off the books.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to sentence Weisselberg to five months at New York’s Rikers Island prison complex, although he will be released much earlier if he behaves well behind bars. The judge said Weisselberg will have to pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest and complete five years of probation.
The plea agreement also requires Weisselberg to actually testify as a prosecution witness when the Trump Organization goes on trial in October on similar charges. The company is accused of helping Weisselberg and other executives avoid income taxes by not accurately reporting their compensation to the government. Trump himself is not charged in this case.
Weisselberg said nothing as he left court, not responding when a reporter asked if he had a message for Trump.
Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante Jr. said his client pleaded guilty “to end this case and the years of legal and personal nightmares it has caused him and his family.”
“We’re glad to have this behind him,” the lawyer added.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Weisselberg’s plea “directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activities and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the corporation.”
“We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization,” he added.
Testimony from Weisselberg could weaken the Trump Organization’s defense. If convicted, the company could face fines or be placed on probation and forced to change certain business practices.
The company praised Weisselberg on Thursday as a trusted and respected veteran employee who has been “persecuted and threatened by law enforcement, particularly the Manhattan District Attorney, in their endless, politically motivated effort to take out President Trump”.
In a statement, the company accused prosecutors of trying to pressure Weisselberg to disavow Trump and of trying to build a criminal case out of well-known executive perks, such as a company car.
The company said it has done nothing wrong, will not admit fault and looks forward to “having our day in court.”
Weisselberg, 75, is the only person to face 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.
Then-District 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 prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who first led the investigation.
But after Vance left office, his successor, 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 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.
His sentencing will not occur until after the trial of the Trump Organization, which is facing tax fraud charges punishable by a fine of twice the amount of unpaid taxes or $250,000, whichever is greater.
Trump has condemned the New York investigation as a “political witch hunt” and said 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 his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination more than 400 times.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed. Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak. Submit confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
