The former long-serving chief financial officer of the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to perjury and given five months in jail for lying during the former president’s fraud trial.
The 76-year-old arrived in a New York court in handcuffs and wearing a surgical masks on Monday morning after he surrendered and was arrested on the new charges.
He was taken into custody and then walked with his head down into the courtroom where he is set to pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury.
Weisselberg, who worked for Trump’s family business 50 years, admitted that he lied on the stand during the blockbuster trial that resulted in a $450million fine for Donald Trump.
The judge said he will be given a prison term of five months when he returns for sentencing on April 10.
The former long-serving chief financial officer of the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg arrived in a New York court in handcuffs on Monday morning after surrendering over new perjury charges
The 76-year-old pleaded guilty to two perjury charges and was told he faces five months in jail when he is sentenced on April 10
Prosecutors accused Weisselberg of lying under oath when he answered questions in a deposition in May and at the October trial about allegations that Trump lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks and insurance companies.
He agreed to plead guilty to two counts of felony perjury, and prosecutors recommended five months in jail.
‘The harm caused by the crime of perjury tears at the very fabric of our justice system,’ prosecutor Gary Fishman said at the hearing.
Prosecutors took his age into account, and the fact he would likely ‘accept responsibility for his conduct’.
It means he could face extra time in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail, where he spent 100 days after pleading guilty to tax fraud in 2022.
It will be the second criminal conviction for Trump’s longtime lieutenant who has refused to turn on his old boss.
Weisselberg, who worked at the business 50 years, is expected to admit that he lied on the stand during the blockbuster trial that resulted in a $450million fine for Donald Trump
Weisselberg sat in the front row of the Manhattan courtroom has he waited for his case to be called on Monday morning
The 76-year-old walked into the courtroom with his head down where he is set to plead guilty to perjury for lying during the former president’s civil fraud trial
He is not expected to implicate the former president when he makes the guilty plea later today, The New York Times reported.
Weisselberg, who has medical issues, is also not to expected to testify at Trump’s trial over his hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The trial in Manhattan, the first for the former president, is set to begin on March 25. It is the only one of the four cases against Trump that has a definitive start date.
In 2022, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 counts of tax fraud for his work at the Trump Organization.
He was sentenced to five months in prison, serving his stint in the New York jail before spending the rest on supervised release.
Trump has also been steadfast in his support for Weisselberg.
The real estate mogul rewarded Weisselberg for his loyalty by giving him a $2million settlement when he left the Trump Organization last year.
Weisselberg is not expected to implicate the former president when he makes the guilty plea later today
The longtime Trump CFO stood in his handcuffs in the courtroom as he waited to plead guilty to the charges
The full details of the charges or the sentence he could face are not yet clear. He could also be prosecuted for allegedly misleading investigators in the New York fraud investigation
The full details of the charges or the sentence he could face are not yet clear. He could also be prosecuted for allegedly misleading investigators in the New York fraud investigation
Weisselberg is pictured alongside Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba before testifying as a witness in the civil fraud trial against the former president and the Trump Organization
The guilty plea means Weisselberg could face extra time in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail, where he spent 100 days after pleading guilty to tax fraud in 2022