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NEW YORK, Aug. 18 (AP) An executive at former President Donald Trump’s family business pleaded guilty Thursday to tax evasion in a deal that could make him a star witness against the company in a fall trial.
Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Alan Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to all 15 charges he faces in the case.
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He admitted in a low, somewhat hoarse voice that he had accepted more than $1.7 million worth of tax-free allowances — including tuition for his grandson, free Manhattan apartment rent and rental of a luxury car — and explicitly kept some plums off the books.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to sentence Weisselberg to five months in prison at the Rikers Island Prison Complex in New York City, but would be eligible for early release if he did well in prison. The judge said Weisselberg would have to pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest.
The plea bargain also requires Weisselberg to testify as a prosecution witness when the Trump Organization faces trial on related charges in October. The company is accused of helping Weisselberg and other executives avoid income tax by failing to accurately report their full compensation to the government. Trump himself has not been charged in the case.
Weisselberg said nothing as he left the courtroom, and did not answer when a reporter asked him if he had any information to give Trump.
Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante Jr., said his client pleaded guilty “to end this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmare it caused him and his family.”
“We are delighted to have this to support him,” the lawyer added.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Weisselberg’s guilty plea “directly implies that the Trump Organization is involved in a wide range of criminal activities and requires Weisselberg to be involved in an upcoming trial against the company” invaluable testimony.”
“We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization,” he added.
Weisselberg’s testimony could weaken the Trump Organization’s defense. If convicted, the company could face a fine or possibly a suspended sentence and be forced to change certain business practices.
Weisselberg, 75, is the only person so far to face criminal charges in the Manhattan district attorney’s long investigation into the company’s business practices.
Weisselberg, seen as one of Trump’s most loyal business associates, was arrested in July 2021. His lawyers have argued that the Democratic-led district attorney’s office is punishing him for not providing information that would harm Trump.
District attorneys have also been investigating whether Trump or his companies lied to banks or the government about the value of their properties to obtain loans or reduce tax bills.
Former Attorney Mark Pomerantz, who led the investigation, said then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who began the investigation last year, directed his deputy to the grand jury. Submit evidence and seek prosecution against Trump.
But after Vance left office, his successor, Bragg, allowed the grand jury to be dismissed without charges. Both prosecutors are Democrats. Bragg said the investigation was continuing.
The Trump Organization was not involved in Weisselberg’s expected guilty plea on Thursday and is scheduled to stand trial in a so-called reparations package in October.
Prosecutors said the company gave top executives, including Weisselberg, 15 years of tax-free fringe benefits. Weisselberg alone has been charged with defrauding the federal, state, and municipal governments of more than $900,000 in unpaid and due tax refunds.
Under state law, the most serious charge against Weisselberg, grand larceny, carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. But there are no mandatory minimums for the charge, and most first-time offenders in tax-related cases never end up in jail.
Tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization carry a fine of twice the amount of unpaid taxes or $250,000, whichever is greater.
Trump has not yet been charged in the criminal investigation. The Republican denounced the New York probe as a “witch hunt” and said his firm’s actions were standard practice in the real estate industry and by no means a crime.
Last week, Trump testified in a parallel civil investigation into allegations that the Trump company misled lenders and tax authorities about the value of assets by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination more than 400 times. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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