Allen Weisselberg charged with $1.7m tax crime

Allen Weisselberg, 75, is the financial chief of Donald Trump’s company. He pleaded guilty to his tax and evasion charges. It happened at a New York Court.

Allen Weisselberg served as the Chief Financial officer of The Trump Organization. He concealed more than $1.7 million. First, he must pay back the money. After that, he can go to Rikers Island Jail. The sentence can be up to five months.

Mr. Trump described this as a ‘witch hunt’. Then, finally, the authorities closed in on his real estate company. This surprised Mr. Trump a lot. The case rests on a 15-year-old scheme. The scheme helped people at Trump’s company to evade taxes. These taxes also were on rent, car, and school fees payments.

The court had the plea hearing on Thursday. Allen Weisselberg admitted that he was a part of this scheme. As a result, his grandchildren received private school tuition. In addition, the 75-year-old was a recipient of BMW cars and a house.

Weisselberg is one of Trump’s best and most loyal business friends and associates. He worked under him for 50 years. Also, he left the CFO job after his arrest. He held the job from 2005. Weisselberg will now testify against the company. He also refused to take part in other deep investigations. They involved Donal Trump.

The Judge for this trial is Juan Merchan. He said the 75-year-old could get a release early on. It depends on good behavior during his jail time. The sentence can be for 5 months. This is shorter than expected. The jail time is longer when getting convicted. But he pleaded guilty.

However, this will not impact Trump, as per Joseph Moreno. He is a former federal prosecutor. He thinks that problems will be civil-based. Nothing is going to be criminal, as per Moreno. Several investigations are going on. Some are for classified documents. Others are for the 2020 elections. Mr. Trump is also under tremendous pressure.

Credits: BBC