Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg has been sentenced to five months in prison by Judge Laurie Peterson in Manhattan criminal court. Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of perjury in connection with a civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, Weisselberg, and other executives at the Trump family real estate company. The lawsuit accused the company of inflating property values to deceive buyers and insurers.
During the hearing, Weisselberg admitted to lying about his knowledge of how company realtors listed Trump’s Manhattan penthouse on financial statements at nearly three times its actual size, manipulating the price. He declined to address the court and was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
This is not Weisselberg’s first encounter with legal trouble. He previously spent nearly 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.
Weisselberg’s testimony during the trial revealed that he had no involvement in the valuation of Trump’s Manhattan townhouse, which was valued at $327 million in Trump’s 2015 and 2016 financial statements, based on an inflated size. However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office presented evidence from Weisselberg’s emails that contradicted his claim.
As part of the sentencing, Weisselberg has been ordered to pay $1.1 million, including interest. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is set to go on trial on Monday for criminal charges related to covering up a $130,000 hush-money payment. Trump has pleaded not guilty in four separate criminal cases, including the hush money case and allegations of mishandling secret government documents, as well as his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Trump is currently seeking re-election in November and is the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The $454 million penalty imposed on Trump for fraudulently valuing properties, resulting from James’s investigation, is currently being appealed by Trump.
