Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of Donald Trump's real estate company, was sentenced to five months in jail for lying under oath in New York's civil fraud case against the former president — Weisselberg's second time behind bars.
The 76-year-old ex-CFO was sentenced Wednesday in New York state court under an agreement he reached with prosecutors when he
Weisselberg was taken into the state's custody immediately after Judge Laurie Peterson imposed the sentence and is likely to serve his time at the Rikers Island jail complex, where he spent his last term on separate, tax-related charges.
"Allen Weisselberg accepted responsibility for his conduct and now looks forward to the end of this life-altering experience and to returning to his family and his retirement," his lawyer
Weisselberg, who worked at the Trump Organization for decades before retiring in 2022, admitted falsely testifying about his role in the valuation of assets the state proved at trial had been inflated for years to get favorable terms on loans. He admitted to several incidents of perjury, both in depositions and in his testimony at trial.
Trump's triplex
He acknowledged lying in one deposition by denying his involvement in determining what numbers were used for valuing properties in Trump's annual statement of financial condition. He also admitted lying under oath by claiming specifically that he had no role in determining the value of Trump's three-story penthouse apartment, which was overvalued by about $200 million for several years.
"I never focused on the triplex, to be honest with you," he said in his testimony when asked about his role.
Emails between Weisselberg and Forbes reporters who uncovered the overvaluation of the penthouse between 2012 and 2017 show the former executive "in fact paid close attention to the triplex," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said in the plea agreement.
Before he struck his plea deal with Bragg's office, Weisselberg was facing five counts of first-degree perjury, a felony punishable by as many as seven years in prison. In agreeing to the much shorter sentence, prosecutors said they took into account his age and willingness to admit wrongdoing.
Tax case
Last year Weisselberg served 100 days of a five-month sentence after pleading guilty to tax fraud and other charges for accepting unreported perks like luxury housing and cars as salary. Under his first plea deal, he testified truthfully against Trump's companies, which were convicted in 2022 of criminal tax fraud charges.
Wednesday's sentence stems from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, his two oldest sons and Weisselberg. A judge found them all liable for fraud and issued a $454 million judgment against Trump, who is appealing. Weisselberg was hit with a $1 million penalty and barred from serving in a financial control function for any New York company.
Evidence at that trial showed that after Weisselberg retired, Trump paid him a $2 million severance package and continued to pay his legal bills.
