On Monday, former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court to plead guilty to charges related to Donald Trump’s civil fraud case.
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to perjury charges stemming from his testimony in former President Trump’s civil fraud trial.
The top executive was ordered to pay more than $1.1 million, plus interest.
The Hill reports:
Weisselberg’s charges stem from his testimony in October during the civil fraud trial, where he testified that he “never focused on” Trump’s Manhattan triplex that was listed on the former president’s financial statements as 30,000 square feet in size – despite actually being less than 11,000 square feet.
But after Weisselberg testified, Forbes published an article accusing him of lying under oath, citing years old correspondence between the magazine and Trump Organization executive.
“A review of old emails and notes, some of which the attorney general’s office does not possess, show that Weisselberg absolutely thought about Trump’s apartment—and played a key role in trying to convince Forbes over the course of several years that it was worth more than it really was,” Forbes wrote in its Oct. 12 article.
When confronted by state lawyers about the Forbes article, Weisselberg conceded that the triplex in the former president’s 5th Avenue Trump Tower was only 10,996 square feet.
Weisselberg is among several top executives at the Trump organization who were barred last month from operating their business in New York for a range of two to three years. That ruling came from Judge Arthur Engoron, who also banned Trump and his children from operating the business.
A New York Appeals Court allowed Trump and his sons to maintain control of the company temporarily while they attempt to appeal Engoron’s decision.
Engoron also “permanently” barred defendants Weisselberg and former corporate controller Jeffrey McConney from “serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State” and as a director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years.
“There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital last month. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued Trump in 2022, alleging he falsely altered his net worth on key financial statements to receive tax and insurance benefits. The documents, which detailed the value of the Trump Organization’s various assets, were sent to banks and insurers to secure loans and deals, which the state purports is evidence of fraud.
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