(Washington Insider Magazine)-A former executive of the Trump Organization changed his not guilty plea to guilty in his trial regarding his involvement in tax evasion and taking illegal perks to fund his lavish lifestyle during his tenure as CFO of the Trump Organization.
Allen Weisselberg reached a deal with prosecutors where he admitted to taking $1.7 million of untaxed perks like living rent-free in a Manhattan apartment, lease payments for luxury cars, and tuition for his grandchildren’s education.
This comes after Weisselberg received criminal charges of tax fraud, grand larceny, and other related offenses in 2021 as the Justice Department continues its investigation into illegal activity in the Trump Organization.
New York’s Attorney General released a statement saying she has zero tolerance for people who knowingly defraud the government and condemns Weisselberg’s decision to accept perks with zero tax implications.
The 75-year-old Weisselberg is sentenced to five months in a New York jail and will likely only serve three months with good behavior. He’ll also be required to pay $2 million in tax penalties and interest and start a five-year probation period once released.
Additionally, the guilty plea doesn’t implicate the former president, and Weisselberg isn’t required to cooperate with other probes into Trump’s business practices in and out of office.
Trump dodged a subpoena issued by the Attorney General, which would have required him to answer questions under oath with penalty of perjury. However, Trump exercised his Fifth Amendment rights over 400 times during his deposition.
This development comes about a week after the FBI searched the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate to find information about how he handled sensitive presidential documents during his time in office. The search was designed to investigate where his organization stored classified documents and how officials handled these items while in office.
Trump will likely make a run for the presidency again in 2024, but his legal battles continue to leave a bad taste in the mouth of potential voters. We look forward to seeing how Trump decides to handle his ongoing legal issues as we learn more about the case and approach the midterm elections this fall.
