Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty to 15 tax crimes and agreed to testify against Trump Organization after being arrested in 2021Photograph: Carlo Allegri/ReutersPhotograph: Carlo Allegri/ReutersAfter testimony that helped convict Donald Trump’s company of tax fraud, its longtime senior executive Allen Weisselberg has been given five months in jail for accepting $1.7m in job perks without paying tax.
Weisselberg would have faced up to 15 years in prison – the maximum punishment for the top grand larceny charge – had he reneged on the deal or not testified truthfully at the Trump Organization’s trial. He is the only person charged in the Manhattan district attorney’sWeisselberg told jurors he conspired with a subordinate to hide more than a decade’s worth of extras from his income, including a free Manhattan apartment, luxury cars and his grandchildren’s private school tuition.
But prosecutors, in their closing argument, said Trump “knew exactly what was going on” and that evidence, such as a lease he signed for Weisselberg’s apartment, made clear that “Mr Trump is explicitly sanctioning tax fraud.”