Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has been sentenced to five months in jail for perjury during his testimony in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial. The 76-year-old arrived at New York criminal court this Wednesday morning dressed casually, prepared for his time in the slammer.
Weisselberg admitted to lying under oath about his involvement in inflating the value of Trump’s Fifth Avenue triplex apartment. Despite the apartment being significantly smaller than claimed, Weisselberg struggled to provide a convincing explanation during the trial. His credibility was further questioned when evidence surfaced of his efforts to misrepresent the apartment’s size to Forbes and the Trump Organization’s accountant.
Following Weisselberg’s guilty plea, Trump and his sons’ defense team have attempted to downplay his actions as coerced rather than an admission of guilt. “To be clear, counsel for Defendants have no ‘knowledge’ that Mr. Weisselberg made false statements during the trial; to the contrary, many believe that Mr. Weisselberg only made such admissions because he was being threatened with life in prison,” defense lawyer Clifford Robert said in a footnote of a filing earlier this week.
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However, Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling earlier this year held Trump and his associates accountable for fraudulent practices aimed at boosting Trump’s net worth for financial gain.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron in February ordered Trump to pay a whopping $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest after he found them liable for using “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate his net worth in order to get more favorable loan terms.
To note, Weisselberg last year served three months in jail over tax fraud after he pleaded guilty to 15 felony charges which were all related to his compensation while working for Mr. Trump.
As the legal battle continues, Trump maintains his innocence through all of this and has appealed the court’s decision.