Allen Weisselberg, who was the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization for a long time, will be sentenced on Wednesday to five months in jail. This is because he lied under oath during his testimony in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial.
Weisselberg will have to report to Rikers Island right after the sentencing hearing to serve his second term in prison. He spent three months in jail last year for not paying taxes on the benefits he received from the Trump Organization.
The former CFO admitted to perjuring himself while testifying about his awareness of the dimensions of the Trump Tower triplex in New York City. Prosecutors alleged that Weisselberg sought to secure advantageous loan and insurance rates, as well as other financial advantages, as explained by Gary Fishman, who presented the case on behalf of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“During a plea hearing last month, Judge Laurie Peterson asked Weisselberg if he admitted to all of that. Weisselberg replied, ‘Yes, your honor.'”
Fishman emphasized that perjury has a detrimental impact on the integrity of our justice system.
During his trial testimony, Weisselberg had difficulty explaining why Trump’s 5th Avenue triplex, which measures less than 11,000 square feet, was listed as 30,000 square feet on the statements of financial condition.
During the trial, Weisselberg stated that he did not pay much attention to the apartment as it was insignificant compared to his overall net worth. He mentioned, “I never even considered the apartment.”
Forbes published an article after Weisselberg’s testimony, in which they accused him of perjury and insinuated that Weisselberg did consider the apartment as significant because he actively participated in persuading the magazine that the apartment matched the financial statements provided by Trump.
During the trial, Louis Solomon, a lawyer from the New York AG’s office, presented emails from a Forbes reporter who was seeking clarification on the size of the apartment. Additionally, Solomon brought forth a letter signed by Weisselberg, in which he certified the inflated square footage to Mazars USA, the Trump Organization’s accountant.
Solomon inquired if Forbes was correct about the triplex being priced at only $10,996. Weisselberg eventually admitted that Solomon was right.
In February, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump must pay $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest. The judge found the former president and his adult sons liable for engaging in “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to artificially inflate Trump’s net worth and secure more favorable loan terms. Despite denying any wrongdoing, Trump has appealed the decision.
