Donald Trump's former CFO Allen Weisselberg faces sentencing for tax fraud scheme
The Hindu
New York Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is expected to sentence Mr. Weisselberg, a senior Trump Organisation advisor and former Chief Financial Officer, to five months in jail, in keeping with a plea agreement reached in August.
Allen Weisselberg, a longtime executive for Donald Trump's real estate empire whose testimony helped convict the former President's company of tax fraud, is set to be sentenced on January 10 for dodging taxes on $1.7 million in job perks.
New York Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is expected to sentence Mr. Weisselberg, a senior Trump Organisation advisor and former Chief Financial Officer, to five months in jail, in keeping with a plea agreement reached in August.
Mr. Weisselberg, 75, was promised that sentence when he agreed to plead guilty to 15 tax crimes and testify against the company, where he's worked since the mid-1980s.
When he begins serving his sentence, Mr. Weisselberg is expected to be locked up at New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail complex. He will be eligible for release after little more than three months if he behaves behind bars.
As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Weisselberg must also pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest, which he said he has made significant progress paying. He must also complete five years of probation.
Mr. Weisselberg faced the prospect of up to 15 years in prison — the maximum punishment for the top grand larceny charge — if he were to have reneged on the deal or if he didn't testify truthfully at the Trump Organisation's trial. He is the only person charged in the Manhattan district attorney's three-year investigation of Mr. Trump and his business practices.