Former Trump CFO Weisselberg gets five months in jail for perjury

New York Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was sentenced on Wednesday to five months in jail after pleading guilty last month to perjury charges for lying to investigators and a judge about Donald Trump’s finances.

Judge Laurie Peterson handed down the sentence at a hearing in Manhattan criminal court. The sentence was in line with the punishment the judge said she would impose at Weisselberg’s March 4 plea hearing.

Court officers led Weisselberg out of the courtroom in handcuffs following a brief hearing.

The sentence marks the second stint behind bars for the former US president’s longtime loyal deputy.

Weisselberg, 76, spent about three months in New York’s Rikers Island jail in 2023 after pleading guilty to participating in a 15-year tax fraud scheme at the Trump Organization.

The perjury charges stem from Weisselberg’s testimony at a civil fraud case New York state attorney-general Letitia James brought against Trump, Weisselberg and other executives at Trump’s family real estate company for manipulating property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Weisselberg testified at the trial on October 10 that he was not involved in an incorrect valuation of Trump’s Manhattan townhouse. Trump's 2015 and 2016 financial statements valued the unit at $327m based on its stated size of more than 30,000 square feet, nearly three times the actual size.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the charges against Weisselberg, said the former CFO’s emails showed he was in fact paying close attention to the apartment.

Weisselberg also admitted to lying about his role in Trump’s financial statements during two earlier depositions with James’ office. James’ investigation culminated in a $454m penalty imposed on Trump for fraudulently valuing properties. Trump is appealing the order by justice Arthur Engoron.

Engoron also ordered Weisselberg to pay $1.1m including interest.

Weisselberg worked for the former president’s family for half a century. His written plea agreement did not indicate if he would be co-operating with Bragg’s office.

Trump is set to go on trial starting on Monday on criminal charges of covering up $130,000 in hush money his former lawyer Michael Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denies any such encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

The case, also brought by Bragg, is poised to be the first criminal trial of a former US president. Trump also faces three other indictments, which stem from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his handling of sensitive government documents. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Reuters