when a criminal Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger illegally lined the pockets of his longtime money man Allen Weisselberg and other executives as the trial against some of Donald Trump’s companies began in earnest on Monday. Of course, the defense portrayed Trump in a different light – even comparing the family’s Weisselberg forgiveness to the biblical story.
From 2005 to 2017, “when most of the criminal activity occurred,” these companies were “owned by Donald Trump,” Hoffinger said in his opening statement. After taking office, these companies were “still effectively owned by Donald Trump through a trust called the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.”
“Evidence would show that these companies finally had to clean up these deceptive tax practices when Donald Trump was elected president at the end of 2016.” We were concerned that the election would bring extra scrutiny to these companies.”
The case comes after several Trump companies, including the Trump Organization, were indicted in 2021 on charges of plotting 15 years of tax evasion. The alleged financial misconduct included tax-exempt profits for Weisselberg in a “drastic and audacious illegal payment scheme,” according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Weisselberg gained a lot from his loyalty to the Trump family, where he worked for nearly 50 years. Since 2005, Weisselberg has lived in an apartment on Manhattan’s West Side without pay. The Trump Company, which held a lease on the apartment, covered his utility bills and parking fees, plus Weisselberg’s rent, the indictment alleges.
The perks extended to other personal expenses. Trump’s firm is said to have covered the lease of two Mercedes-Benz vehicles that Weisselberg and his wife used as their own vehicles. Weisselberg was given cash around Christmas so executives could give him a “personal holiday thoughtfulness.”
Trump’s business also includes expenses related to Weisselberg’s “house and an apartment maintained by one of his children,” including “new beds, flat-screen TVs, carpet installation, and furniture for Weisselberg’s home in Florida.” prosecutors have previously said.
Jurors also heard about Trump’s role in the alleged fraud. Prosecutors said the Trump Corporation also paid for Weisselberg’s grandchildren’s private school tuition.
After the 2016 presidential election, amid fears of further scrutiny, Mr. Trump stopped paying tuition to Mr. Weisselberg’s grandchildren. “Around this so-called cleanup, Allen Weisselberg instructed the company’s accounts payable chief to remove all notations containing his name from all entries she made to Donald Trump’s… ledger. You’ll hear what I did,” said Hoffinger.
“Allen Weisselberg didn’t want his fingerprints anymore,” she claimed, referring to what showed Trump had paid questionable perks.
“Except for Donald Trump,” no one had more financial power in Trump’s company than the real estate mogul himself. After the election, when the company’s assets were transferred to the trust, Weisselberg was named trustee, with the only other trustee being Donald Trump Jr., Hoffinger said.
Hoffinger told a jury of eight men and four women that some of the evidence in the case included Trump’s “personal general ledger” kept by the company’s accountants. Other evidence includes checks signed by Trump to pay private school tuition.
Of course, it’s not against the law to receive enviable benefits, but prosecutors alleged Weisselberg failed to declare them in his taxes. It means that you were
In August, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 charges related to these illegal payments. When Judge Juan Marchan asked if he was “involved in a scheme” to “defraud federal, New York State and New York City tax authorities” with the Trump Organization, Weisselberg said, “Yes, it’s your honor.” I answered.
Weisselberg’s shocking confession made it appear that Trump’s company was directly involved in criminal activities such as tax evasion and falsification of business records. , poses potential problems for Trump’s company.
Under Weisselberg’s plea bargain, if he is brought to trial, he “must testify honestly”.
If Weisselberg postpones the termination of his contract, his sentence under the plea bargain is five months in prison and five years probation. But if Weisselberg breaks his agreement, Merchan warned, he could face a harsher sentence.
In fact, Weisselberg’s plea bargain includes a provision not to judge him “to ensure compliance” with testimony requirements until the Trump Organization’s trial is over.
Weisselberg’s guilty plea appeared to put Trump’s business directly at the center of criminal activity, but they maintain their pleas of innocence.The trial is a gamble for all involved.
Trump’s company could face potentially disastrous fines and penalties if jurors side with the prosecution. But lawyers for the Trump corporations could use the trial to cross-examine Weisselberg and directly ask if Trump was involved in his fraud. This gives Weisselberg an opportunity to deny Trump’s involvement in criminal activity.
The Trump campaign has historically portrayed the lawsuit as a politically-driven witch hunt against the former president.
“A longtime and trusted employee of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg is a worthy and honorable individual who has been harassed, persecuted and threatened by law enforcement, especially the Manhattan District Attorney, for the past four years. In a politically motivated quest to win President Trump, prosecutors have filed criminal charges for failing to report company cars, company apartments and so-called “fringe benefits” in our nation’s history. never,” a Trump Organization representative said after Weisselberg’s plea. “
“But the Manhattan Attorney’s Office not only used the opportunity, but also tried to pressure Mr. Weisselberg to say bad things about President Trump or to lie to Mr. Weisselberg’s children (who have done nothing wrong). Weisselberg, who just turned 75, decided that the best course of action for himself and his family was to plead guilty to put the matter aside and start over with his life. Did. ”
The spokesperson also said Trump’s company would not accept the petition “for the simple reason that he has done nothing wrong,” and said he was “looking forward to his day in court.”
The steadfast support expressed in the past hasn’t completely waned during today’s proceedings, but caution was warranted. As one attorney claimed, Weisselberg hurt Trump’s feelings.
When Trump Corporation attorney Susan Necheres delivered her opening address this morning, she sympathetically placed all the blame on Weisselberg. Weisselberg was “handcuffed and marched in front of the cameras” upon his arrest and found himself facing not only “public humiliation” but also a potentially lengthy prison sentence.
“This was a man who had a great life. He was the chief financial officer of a prestigious company. In his prime he made over $1 million a year and lived very well… Allen Weisselberg said, I had everything a man could want,” Necheles continued. “But once he was arrested, he found himself in danger of losing all of that and spending years in prison.”
The crime “began with Allen Weisselberg and ended with Allen Weisselberg,” Nekeles claimed. Trump’s company has not been accused of acrobatic accounting with its own corporate tax, she said.
Regarding the attempt to cover up financial wrongdoing, Necheles refuted Hoffinger’s characterization of “cleanup”.
“It was Allen Weisselberg who wanted to clear things up. “Donald Trump had no idea that Allen Weisselberg cheated on Allen Weisselberg’s personal tax return.[s]”
At the outset, Trump Payroll Corporation attorney Michael Thomas van der Veen went a step further and nearly identified Trump and his family as victims of the Weisselberg deception. “This lawsuit is about an individual’s personal greed and the abuse of trust necessary to feed that greed,” Van der Veen said. “Allen Weisselberg is a man who has fallen for greed.”
“Greed, greed cheated him out of taxes,” he said, raising his voice when he repeated the word “greed.” It betrays the trust that has been built.”
According to Van der Veen, no one was more reliable than Weisselberg. Despite this, Trump has treated him with grace. “He was trusted, and although he betrayed that trust and committed a crime, he was never kicked out of the company. He wasn’t kicked out of his family.”
After his crimes came to light, the Trumps acted against him as they would against a family member who had made a “grave and criminal” mistake.
“We all know the story of the Bible. [prodigal] Son,” said Van der Veen. “A man who puts his own goals and aspirations above his family and when it all falls apart, he is drawn back into the same family.”
“But forgiveness comes with some limitations,” the attorney said of Weisselberg. “He still gets some salary, but he’s not [to] Not the same benefits he had before, but to the same extent. ”
