Thursday 18 August 2022 08:55 PM Will guilty Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg give Donald sleepless nights with his ... trends now
Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg departs from the courtroom in Manhattan Supreme Court on August 18
Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's veteran chief financial officer, pleaded guilty on Thursday in a deal with prosecutors that will see him testify against the former president's family business in October.
Weisselberg was charged in July 2021 with an array of financial crimes focused on his and the company's evasion of taxes by failing to declare nearly $2 million in lavish gifts over the years.
While his testimony could have earth-shattering consequences for Donald Trump's real estate empire, it's very likely to be limited in what touches the ex-president himself.
Despite months of pressure to flip on his boss, the longtime Trump associate instead accepted a jail sentence of 100 days - a fraction of the 15 years he could have gotten - and agreed to give narrower testimony regarding the tax fraud scheme that saw him showered with high-end cars, apartments and tuition for his children.
If he ultimately does not testify, prosecutors can ask for a harsher sentence.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's greater criminal investigation is focused on whether Trump knowingly presented misleading financial statements on his hotels, golf courses and other properties to secure greater benefits.
It's worth noting that Weisselberg's plea deal does not grant immunity for any other crimes of his that could come up in the course of the investigation.
That could mean prosecutors are expecting to uncover more information from Weisselberg and his encyclopedic knowledge of the Trump Organization's finances.
'I doubt Weisselberg would be useful in building a case against Trump personally because he would have agreed to cooperate against him if that were the case,' New York Law School Professor Rebecca Roiphe told DailyMail.com.
'He has very valuable information to bring to the case against the company.'
Inside his own $1.7 million in gifts from the Trump Organization
Both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization were charged in a tax evasion scheme going back 15 years in which the company skirted payroll taxes by heaping lavish perks on executives.
Weisselberg will be forced to speak to prosecutors about the charges he pleaded guilty for, including accepting $1.7 million in employer gifts which prosecutors have said neither he nor the company declared in their taxes.
That includes an apartment on the affluent Riverside Drive on Manhattan's the Upper West Side, and leases for two Mercedes-Benz cars that Weisselberg and his wife had for personal use.
Trump's personal checkbook footed the tuition bill for Weisselberg's children and grandchildren to attend elite private schools, according to the indictment.
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 charges of varying financial crimes while working for the Trump Organization
Weisselberg admitted to accepting $1.7 million in lavish gifts that were not properly declared as part of his compensation, allowing both him and the Trump Organization to skirt payroll taxes
Despite the Trump Organization pleading not guilty, admission to a company-wide tax scheme by one of its highest-ranking employees could be devastating for its operations.
'A company can be criminally liable in New York if a high ranking official conducted crimes on behalf of that entity,' Roiphe told DailyMail.com.
'Seems like this will be Weisselberg's testimony, which will all but ensure a conviction.'
Will anyone else be implicated?
The indictment against Weisselberg notes that the 'off the books' perks he received were also given to 'other Trump Organization executives' and employees.
While it does not specify other executives, it's possible that prosecutors could demand that Weisselberg name names in an effort to widen the probe. Increasing company-wide pressure could be one way for prosecutors to turn the heat up on Trump, who has to date not been accused
