Trump CFOs plea deal could make him a prosecution witness

Donald Trump‘s chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to tax violations on Thursday as part of a deal that would require him to testify about illegal business practices at the former president’s company.

Allen Weisselberg is accused of receiving more than USD 1.7 million in untaxed compensation from the Trump Organization over a period of several years, including rent, car payments, and school tuition.

According to court records On Monday, Weisselberg also made an unexpected appearance in Manhattan state court.

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Weisselberg would be required by the plea agreement to testify in court on Thursday about the company’s alleged participation in the alleged compensation scheme and might potentially testify at the Trump Organization’s related trial in October, according to the sources.

Weisselberg, may be given a term of five months in prison to be served at the notorious Rikers Island prison complex in New York City. He may also be compelled to pay roughly USD 2 million in reparations, which would include taxes, fines, and interest. Weisselberg would be eligible for parole after roughly 100 days if the punishment is upheld.

Weisselberg and the Trump Organization’s attorneys as well as the Manhattan district attorney’s office have all been contacted for comment.

In the lengthy investigation of the firm’s business activities by the Manhattan district attorney, only Weisselberg has been charged with a crime thus far.

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Weisselberg was arrested in July 2021. Weisselberg had initially entered a plea of innocence. His attorneys have claimed that the Democrat-led district attorney’s office is punishing him because he refused to provide information that would harm Trump.

For providing “off the books” perks to company leaders, Weisselberg and the Trump Organization were charged with more than a dozen counts of tax fraud and falsifying financial records. 

The district attorney is also looking into whether Trump or his company lied to banks or the government about the value of their properties in order to obtain loans or lower their tax bills.

According to former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who previously led the investigation, former District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. directed his deputies last year to present evidence to a grand jury and seek an indictment of Trump.

However, after Vance left office, his successor, Alvin Bragg, allowed the grand jury to disband without issuing any charges. The prosecutors are both Democrats. Bragg has stated that the investigation is ongoing.

The Trump Organization is not involved in Weisselberg’s expected guilty plea on Thursday, and the alleged compensation scheme will be tried in October.

Prosecutors claimed that for 15 years, the company provided untaxed fringe benefits to senior executives, including Weisselberg. Weisselberg was charged with defrauding the federal government, state, and city of over USD 900,000 in unpaid taxes and undeserved tax refunds.

Under state law, the most serious charge levelled against Weisselberg, grand larceny, could result in a prison sentence of up to 15 years. However, there is no mandatory minimum for the charge, and most first-time offenders in tax-related cases never end up in jail.

Tax evasion charges against the Trump Organization carry a fine of twice the amount of unpaid taxes, or USD 250,000, whichever is greater.

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Trump has not been charged in the criminal investigation. The Republican has called the New York investigations a political witch hunt, claiming that his company’s actions were standard practise in the real estate industry and were not criminal in any way.

Trump testified last week in a parallel civil investigation launched by New York Attorney General Letitia James into allegations that Trump’s company misled lenders and tax authorities about asset values. More than 400 times, Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Trump has referred to the civil inquiry by the New York Attorney General Letitia James and the investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as “witch hunts” because of their political motivations. Letitia James and Alvin Bragg are both Democrats.