Donald Trump’s longtime finance chief tells a Manhattan court he acted out of ‘personal greed’ when he engaged in tax evasion, as prosecutors provided evidence of payments to executives of the former US president’s business empire which they claimed were “off the books”. .
Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty 15 charges in August, fought back tears as he testified Thursday that no member of the Trump family knew about how he avoided paying certain taxes by accepting a luxurious waterfront apartment, Mercedes cars and tuition fees for his grandchildren from the Trump Organization without properly reporting them as income.
In cross-examination of Trump Organization Lawyer Alan Futerfas, 75, confirmed he believed the Trump family was “counting on him to do the right thing”, and agreed he had betrayed their trust. Weisselberg previously testified that Trump himself wrote numerous checks for the qualified accountant and his wife’s undeclared benefits.
A nearly 50-year employee who has become one of Trump’s closest advisers, Weisselberg is the star witness to a criminal record filed against the former president’s business entities by the Manhattan District Attorney.
As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, Weisselberg, who is still paid more than $600,000 a year by Trump entities, agreed to bear witness honestly in the prosecutor’s case against the Trump Organization, or face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Company attorneys are seeking to establish that his unlawful behavior over a 15-year period was not authorized by Trump and his family.
During the interrogation of prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Weisselberg had explained how it was “convenient for the company” that he and other senior executives of the Trump Organization receive benefits and bonuses that were not declared in as part of their regular salary.
Prosecutors on Tuesday produced a lease for Weisselberg’s Upper West Side apartment signed by Trump. The former CFO also said Trump personally authorized payments amounting to $100,000 a year for the private education of his two grandchildren, though Weisselberg insisted he planned to repay the sum.
Trump stopped writing such checks once he became president in 2017, Weisselberg said. The company also began declaring executives’ benefits as part of their pay when Trump entered the White House, he said, because management was aware that they had “everyone looking at our business from all angles.
“We were going through a whole cleaning process in the business,” Weisselberg said of the post-Trump election period, to “make sure we fix everything.” He added: “I started paying my rent directly, I paid my tuition directly.”
If found guilty, the Trump Organization could be fined up to around $1 million, a sum well below the $250 million the company could be forced to pay if it loses a related civil case. brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
A guilty verdict in the Manhattan prosecutor’s case could hamper the company’s ability to secure loans and close deals, and provide ammunition for Trump’s political rivals as he battles to become the Republican nominee for the presidency for the third time.