Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg testifies that he got raise after Trump children discovered tax scheme
Misty Severi
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When Eric and Donald Trump Jr. discovered that former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was cheating on his taxes, he was not disciplined, Weisselberg testified Friday.
In fact, Eric Trump approved a $200,000 raise for Weisselberg after he claimed he was no longer participating in the illegal activity and needed more money to make up for it, the former Trump executive testified during his third and final day of testimony in the Trump Organization criminal trial in New York City.
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“I told them since the practice was no longer going on, I would need some additional income to pay for those expenses,” Weisselberg said, according to NBC News.
Weisselberg said he was granted untaxed corporate perks by the Trump Organization, including large tuition payments for his grandchildren at a distinguished Manhattan private school, a luxury vehicle, and an upscale apartment in New York City.
Weisselberg, 75, said the brothers discovered his untaxed bonuses in 2017 during an internal review and after former President Donald Trump was already in the White House. The former CFO said when Donald Trump entered the White House, he stopped communicating with the organization.
“Once he was in the White House, we had very little communication about things going on in the company,” Weisselberg testified.
Weisselberg, the prosecution’s star witness, was indicted by a New York grand jury on June 30 of last year. He pleaded guilty this August and agreed to testify against his employer in exchange for a five-month jail sentence and five years of probation. Had he been convicted at trial, he could have faced a sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
He will also be required to face the yearslong sentence if he fails to testify truthfully or if he fails to repay the nearly $2 million he owes in taxes.
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Although Weisselberg’s testimony has concluded, the trial will continue on Monday and Tuesday of next week, but it will pause for the remainder of the week for the Thanksgiving holiday.