Weisselberg receives 5-month prison in Trump's tax fraud case
World
Trump’s former CFO acknowledged getting benefits that helped business and them save money
(Reuters) - Trump Organization s veteran executive Allen Weisselberg, who was the star witness for the prosecution in the former president s real estate company s criminal trial, has received a five-month prison term on Tuesday for his role in the Trump Organization s 15-year tax fraud scheme.
Weisselberg, 75, is anticipated to be detained in Rikers Island in New York. The former CFO of The Trump Organization entered a guilty plea in August and acknowledged that from 2005 to 2017 he and other executives got incentives and benefits that helped the business and themselves save money.
Justice Juan Merchan handed down the punishment in a New York state court in Manhattan. Weisselberg is still on paid leave from the Trump Organization despite no longer serving as CFO.
Weisselberg, who has already paid $2 million in taxes, fines and interest as part of his sentence is most likely going to spend 100 days in jail with some leniency.
His stay in a prison infamous for violence, narcotics, and corruption won t likely be easy. Last year, 19 prisoners there passed away.
Weisselberg said that while Trump signed papers crucial to the prosecution s case including bonus and tuition checks he was not involved in the tax fraud plan. In his testimony from November he stated that the business was paying his attorneys and that he expected to get a $500,000 bonus.
Trump has said he did nothing wrong and was not prosecuted.
