Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/NEW YORK: Allen Weisselberg, a longtime chief financial officer (CFO) for former US president Donald Trump, was sentenced on Tuesday to five months in prison on fraud and tax evasion charges.
Seventy-year-old Weisselberg, the star prosecution witness in the criminal trial of the former president’s real estate company from 2005 to 2021, was sentenced for helping engineer a 15-year tax fraud scheme at the Trump Organization.
CFO Weisselberg taken into custody
Soon after the sentence, Weisselberg was taken into custody and handcuffed. He was expected to be taken to New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex.
In August, Weisselberg pleaded guilty, confessing that from 2005 to 2017 he and other executives received bonuses and perks that saved the company and themselves money.
According to New York district attorney Alvin Bragg, his actions were a part of a 15-year scheme to deceive local, state, and federal authorities. Bragg said, “no matter whom you work for or who you are, you must follow the rules in Manhattan.”
He said: “Weisselberg used his high-ranking position to gain lavish job benefits such as a rent-free luxury Manhattan apartment, multiple Mercedes Benz automobiles, and private school tuition for his grandchildren—all without paying needed taxes.”
Weisselberg’s testimony assisted prosecutors in getting the Trump Organization and sister company Trump Payroll Corp convicted on December 6 for 17 related counts of fraud and tax evasion involving fabricated business records.
He testified against the corporation, but he made no accusations against the former president, who will be seeking office once more in 2024.
Weisselberg, a close friend of the Trumps, confessed to conspiring with the company to obtain unreported benefits like a rent-free residence in an upscale neighbourhood, luxury vehicles for him and his wife, and tuition for his grandchildren at a pricey private school.
His plea agreement said that he would serve time in jail and undergo a five-year probationary period in addition to paying close to $2 million in fines and penalties. He was reportedly handcuffed and transferred to the notorious Rikers Island prison.
Weisselberg and the Trump Organization’s felony charges, according to Bragg, “placed on full display the inner workings of former president Trump’s corporation.
