In short: The former financial chief for Donald Trump has been jailed for lying to a judge and investigators.
- Allen Wiesselberg pleaded guilty to the charges that link to his involvement in evaluating the cost of Mr Trump’s property in Manhattan.
- What’s next? Weisselberg will spend five months behind bars for his crimes.
(ABC-Australia) A long-time executive for Donald Trump’s business empire has been sentenced to five months in jail for lying to investigators and a judge about the former US president’s finances.
Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced on Wednesday local time after pleading guilty to perjury.
Judge Laurie Peterson handed down the sentence at a hearing in Manhattan criminal court.
Court officers led Weisselberg out of the courtroom in handcuffs following a brief hearing.
The sentence marks the second stint behind bars for the former US president’s longtime loyal deputy.
Weisselberg, 76, spent around three months in New York’s Rikers Island jail in 2023 after pleading guilty to participating in a 15-year tax fraud scheme at the Trump Organization.
The perjury charges stem from Weisselberg’s testimony at a civil fraud case New York state Attorney-General Letitia James brought against Mr Trump, Weisselberg and other executives at Mr Trump’s family real estate company for manipulating property values to dupe lenders and insurers.
Weisselberg testified at the trial on October 10 that he was not involved in an incorrect valuation of Mr Trump’s Manhattan townhouse.
Mr Trump’s 2015 and 2016 financial statements valued the unit at $US327 million ($501 million) based on its stated size of more than 30,000 square feet, nearly three times the actual size.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the charges against Weisselberg, said the former CFO’s emails showed he was paying close attention to the apartment.
Weisselberg also admitted to lying about his role in Mr Trump’s financial statements during two earlier depositions with Ms James’s office. That investigation culminated in a $US454 million penalty imposed on Mr Trump for fraudulently valuing properties. Mr Trump is appealing the order by Justice Arthur Engoron.
Justice Engoron also ordered Weisselberg to pay $US1.1 million including interest.
Weisselberg worked for the former president’s family for half a century. His written plea agreement did not indicate if he would cooperate with Mr Bragg’s office.
Mr Trump is set to go on trial starting on Monday on criminal charges of covering up $US130,000 in hush money his former lawyer Michael Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Mr Trump in 2006.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denies any such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
The case, also brought by Mr Bragg, is poised to be the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.
Mr Trump also faces three other indictments, which stem from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his handling of sensitive government documents.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Reuters/ABC