Business

Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg chokes on witness, claims his ‘personal greed’ fueled $1.7 million tax evasion scheme


NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s longtime CFO choked on witness testimony on Thursday, saying he betrayed the Trump family’s trust by conspiring to evade taxes on the Trump family. with $1.7 million in company-paid perks, including a Manhattan apartment and luxury car.

Allen Weisselberg, a senior adviser and former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, the former president’s family business, said he conspired with subordinates to hide more than a decade’s worth of taxable income. , but neither Trump nor his family did. related.

From the archive (August 2022): Trump company CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty in tax planning case – but not involving former President Trump

See also (February 2022): Trump Organization accounting firm denies years of financial statements

The The Trump Organization is currently on trialaccused of helping Weisselberg and other executives avoid paying income tax on compensation beyond their wages.

Prosecutors argued that the company was liable because Weisselberg was a “senior management agent” entrusted to act on behalf of the company.

See: Longtime Trump Organization CFO describes how he plotted to evade taxes

Also: Trump Organization CEO says he’s afraid of being fired if he speaks out about tax evasion plans

And: Trump Organization CEO Says He Helped Colleagues Dodge Taxes

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to taxes and agreed to testify against the company in exchange for a five-month prison sentence, said: “It was my personal greed that led to this.

When asked if he’s ashamed of what he’s done, Weisselberg sullenly said: “More than you can imagine.”

His emotional testimony came Monday as a key witness for the prosecution, as a company attorney reminded him of the cross-examination of beliefs the Trump family has placed. on him for decades.

Weisselberg began working for Trump’s father in 1973 and joined Trump as chief executive of the then fledgling Trump Organization in 1986. He wielded immense power as the company, thanks to his support Trump’s fame, grew from a humble New York City developer into a global golf course, hotel and real estate empire.

Weisselberg also recalls helping Trump through the company’s dark times in the early 1990s, including the casino bankruptcy and the failure of his airline Trump Shuttle. He reminisced about watching Trump’s three oldest children – Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric – grow up before his eyes, admitting he was “one of the most trusted people they knew.” “.

The Trump Organization denies wrongdoing. The company could be fined more than $1 million if found guilty, but a guilty verdict can also impede its ability to borrow funds and conduct transactions, and lead to governments, such as New York City, trying to cancel contracts with Trump entities.

The Trump Organization continues to hire Weisselberg, paying his usual $640,000 salary even after he took a leave of absence last month. However, in court, the company’s lawyers described him as a loyal lieutenant who had cheated and orchestrated a tax evasion scheme himself without Trump or the Trump family’s knowledge.

Some of Weisselberg’s testimony seems to underscore that point. But the 75-year-old CEO rejected the defense’s argument that his plan was not helping the company’s bottom line either. He also detailed another financial arrangement, involving holiday bonuses, that has saved the company money over the years.

Weisselberg testified that he conspired to conceal his privileges from the company’s senior vice president and controller, Jeffrey McConney, by falsifying payroll records to deduct their costs from wages. his. The deal reduced Weisselberg’s tax liability, while also saving the company money because it didn’t have to give him a huge pay raise to cover the cost of the additional perks and income taxes he would have to pay. experience.

“I don’t analyze, but I know it’s good for the company,” Weisselberg says. “I knew in my head that there was a benefit to the company.”

The company’s CEO, Matthew Calamari Sr., also took a pay cut to deduct the cost of the apartment and car paid by the company to him and his wife, but Weisselberg denied that they colluded. He said he was unaware or unrelated to what Calamari was doing.

Calamari has not been charged. McConney, who was exempt, testified during the first five days of the trial in state court in Manhattan.
Weisselberg told the jury that Trump signed a lease on his apartment and that until becoming president in 2017, he personally paid private school tuition for his two grandchildren.

However, the company has a longstanding practice of avoiding taxes on the lucrative Christmas bonuses Trump gives out annually to his company’s executives.

Weisselberg said the company evaded taxes for decades by withdrawing some Trump-signed bonus checks from subsidiaries and paying executives as independent contractors, allowing the company to avoid payroll taxes and subsidiaries deduct bonuses as expenses.

Weisselberg said the practice began before he started at the Trump Organization and was only abandoned after a tax attorney examined the company’s payroll practices after Trump became president in 2017.

From the archive (July 2021): Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg surrendered early Thursday in Lower Manhattan court

Weisselberg said Trump “has always wanted to sign bonus checks — applying his seismometer-like signature to a stack of 70 or more checks sent to key company officials, including Weisselberg and Calamari.

The checks would then be stuffed into Christmas cards, also signed by Trump, who distributed them like Santa Claus to moderators around the building.

The Trump Organization moved to pay executives bonuses purely as taxable income for employees after Trump entered the White House.

“We went through the entire cleaning process at the company. With Mr. Trump now president, we want to make sure everything is done the right way,” Weisselberg said.

Read on (April 2022): Manhattan District Attorney Bragg says Trump’s criminal investigation continues despite senior prosecutor’s departure

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