Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, was sentenced to five months in jail for his participation in operating a tax fraud scheme at the former president’s real estate company for 15 years.
Weisselberg received the sentence during a court appearance on Tuesday after pleading guilty in August and admitting that he and several other company executives had received bonuses and other financial perks designed to save the company money. As part of that plea deal, Weisselberg will be held at the Rikers Island jail complex in New York and fined nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties, and interest.
The former Trump executive could be eligible for release after three months of detention if he exemplifies good behavior, according to the judge. Upon release, Weisselberg will be ordered to complete five years of probation.
Rikers Island is one of New York’s most well-known jails and has become notorious for violence and drug use, according to Reuters. Nineteen inmates died at the prison last year.
Weisselberg’s sentence comes one month after prosecutors and defense lawyers gave their closing arguments in the criminal tax fraud trial against the Trump Organization, wrapping up the yearslong investigation into the former president’s company and its financial dealings.
The former CFO emerged as the prosecutor’s star witness after he testified that he had accepted illegal compensation for his own benefit and hid the payments from the company’s outside accountant. The former CFO continued this practice for years, ending it once Donald Trump was elected president and his company’s business practices came under new scrutiny.
Weisselberg’s testimony strengthened prosecutors’ accusations that the Trump Organization paid for the personal expenses of several company executives without reporting them as income. These payments included paying for the managers’ rent, car lease payments, and other expenses. Prosecutors also alleged the company partially paid these executives as independent contractors rather than company employees.
The Trump Organization pleaded not guilty, and defense lawyers sought to point the finger solely at Weisselberg.
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The Trump Organization was found guilty on all nine counts in early December, and the company could be fined as much as $1.6 million. The charges come as Trump is seeking a third White House bid, and the former president has denounced the trial as politically motivated. Sentencing for those charges is scheduled for Jan. 13.
The criminal trial is separate from another tax fraud investigation being conducted by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has accused the Trump Organization of violating several state laws by manipulating its asset valuations. James filed that lawsuit in civil court in September, although it could take months to go through New York’s legal system before it reaches trial.
