NEW YORK (AP) — Allen Weisselberg, a retired executive in Donald Trump’s real estate empire, was sentenced Wednesday to five months in jail for lying under oath during his testimony in the civil fraud lawsuit brought against the former president by New York’s attorney general.
Weisselberg, 76, was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs following the sentencing, which lasted less than five minutes.
The two cases highlighted Weisselberg’s unflinching loyalty to Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Trump’s family employed Weisselberg for nearly 50 years, then gave him a $2 million severance deal when the tax charges prompted him to retire.
Weisselberg testified twice in trials that went badly for Trump, but each time he took pains to suggest that his boss hadn’t committed any serious wrongdoing.
A former Trump real estate executive testified that Weisselberg provided the figure.
The former executive said that when he asked for the apartment’s size in 2012, Weisselberg replied: “It’s quite large.
The judge penalized Trump $455 million and ordered Weisselberg to pay $1 million.
NEW YORK (AP) — Allen Weisselberg, a retired executive in Donald Trump’s real estate business, was given a five-month jail sentence on Wednesday for lying under oath when testifying in the civil fraud case that the attorney general of New York filed against the former president.
After the sentencing, which took less than five minutes, Weisselberg, 76, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Wearing a black windbreaker and a face mask, Weisselberg said, “No, your honor,” when asked if he wanted to address the court. “.
Weisselberg has spent two stints in prison. The previous chief financial officer of the Trump Organization served 100 days in jail last year for evading taxes on $1.07 million in business benefits, which included a rent-free Manhattan apartment and expensive vehicles.
He is now once more exchanging his retirement from Florida for a stay at the infamous Rikers Island jail complex in New York City, but he is receiving something in return.
Weisselberg entered a legally binding plea of guilty to two counts of perjury last month, and the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg promised not to prosecute him for any additional crimes related to his long-term employment with the Trump Organization.
Additionally, Weisselberg’s plea deal exempts him from testifying in Trump’s hush money criminal trial, which is set to begin on Monday with jury selection.
“After the court hearing, Seth Rosenberg, Allen Weisselberg’s attorney, released a statement saying that his client had taken responsibility for his actions and now looked forward to ending this life-altering experience, going back to his family, and retiring.”.
Throughout the brief sentencing hearing, Bragg’s office prosecutors chose not to speak to the court. Weisselberg pleaded guilty and acknowledged lying during his testimony, saying he had no idea how Trump’s Manhattan penthouse came to be valued at nearly three times its real size.
Weisselberg has demonstrated an unwavering devotion to Trump, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, as demonstrated by these two cases.
After nearly 50 years of employment, Weisselberg was given a $2 million severance package by Trump’s family when he decided to retire due to tax concerns. The business keeps covering his legal expenses.
Weisselberg gave testimony twice in Trump-losing trials, but he went to great lengths to insinuate that his boss hadn’t done anything seriously wrong both times.
Prosecutors agreed to a five-month sentence because of Weisselberg’s age and his readiness to accept responsibility for his actions. Perjury carries a maximum seven-year prison sentence in the state of New York.
Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in jail for his prior case, but after less than three months, he was eligible for release provided he behaved well. This sentence is similar to that of that other case. He had no criminal history before that.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office was accused by Trump’s attorneys of using “unethical, strong-armed tactics against an innocent man in his late 70s” in Weisselberg’s perjury prosecution while “turning a blind eye” to charges of perjury against Michael Cohen, the former Trump attorney who is now a crucial prosecution witness in the hush money case.
On March 4, Weisselberg entered a guilty plea. In three different depositions—in July 2020 and May 2023, as well as on the witness stand during the trial in October of last year—he acknowledged lying under oath while providing testimony in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump. In order to stay on probation for his tax case, he consented to admit guilt solely to the charges pertaining to his deposition testimony from 2020.
A crucial aspect of the civil fraud case concerned Trump’s penthouse’s dimensions.
From at least 2012 to 2016, Trump listed the apartment’s value on his financial statements as 30,000 square feet (2,800 square meters). Testifying that Weisselberg supplied the figure was a former Trump real estate executive. The former executive claimed that Weisselberg told him the apartment was “quite large” in response to his question about its size in 2012. It’s probably 30,000 square feet. “.
Weisselberg did, however, receive an email early in the year from state lawyers containing a 1994 document that estimated Trump’s apartment to be 10,996 square feet (1,022 square meters). Weisselberg stated in his deposition that he did not “walk around knowing the size” of the apartment and that he only remembered the email and not the attachment.
Trump’s penthouse’s estimated value on his financial statement was reduced from $327 million to roughly $117 million after Forbes magazine published an article in 2017 contesting the property’s size.
In October of last year, Forbes released an article titled “Trump’s Longtime CFO Lied, Under Oath, About Trump Tower Penthouse” in which Weisselberg gave his testimony. “.
At the conclusion of the civil fraud trial, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump and a few of his executives had plotted to mislead banks, insurers, and other parties by inflating his wealth on financial statements that were used to close deals and obtain loans. The judge ruled that Weisselberg must pay $1 million and fined Trump $455 million. Both of them have an attractive quality.
Engoron declared that Weisselberg’s testimony was “highly unreliable” and “intentionally evasive” in his decision. “.
Even though Weisselberg is incarcerated and not testifying during Trump’s hush money trial, he will probably be taken into consideration.
During his 2016 campaign, Trump is alleged to have fabricated company records in order to conceal payments and hide allegations of infidelity. This marks the initial trial out of Trump’s four pending criminal cases. Pleading not guilty, Trump has refuted any wrongdoing.
Weisselberg was involved in the planning of the payments, according to Cohen. Neither the prosecutors nor Trump’s attorneys have indicated that they will call Boynton Beach, Florida resident Weisselberg as a witness in that case. He has not been charged.
