Manhattan prosecutors suspected Trump Organisation CFO Allen Weisselberg lied to them during testimony and may use it against him to seek cooperation, report claims
Federal prosecutors suspected that the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg lied to them when they were investigating former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, according to sources familiar with their thinking, suspicions that could yet be used to pressure him into cooperating.
Weisselberg has denied any wrongdoing in a tax fraud case brought against him and the Trump family business last month.
And he has given no indications that he is ready to 'flip' and give evidence against his boss.
But those past suspicions could come into play as the Manhattan district attorney's office pursues the case against him and seeks his cooperation, according to CNN.
Weisselberg, 73, has proven himself to be a loyal lieutenant to the Trumps, rising to become chief financial officer since starting with the family in the 1970s.
Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, denied 15 charges of tax fraud and falsifying records when he appeared at New York State Supreme Court last month
Former President Trump slipped out of Trump Tower on Wednesday with only a handful of Secret Service agents. The Trump Organization faces tax fraud charges in a New York court
Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney and fixer, was investigated in 2018 over hush-money payments made to women who said they had affairs with Trump. He pleaded guilty to federal crimes including lying to Congress, tax evasion, and bank fraud
The 15 counts against the Trump Organization and its long-serving chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg
Prosecutors unveiled their case against Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization in Manhattan Supreme Court on July 1. It contained 15 charges, several of which only apply to the chief financial officer. They are:
- Scheme to defraud in the first degree
- Conspiracy in the fourth degree
- Grand larceny in the second degree (Weisselberg only)
- Criminal tax fraud in the third degree
- Criminal tax fraud in the third degree
- Criminal tax fraud in the third degree
- Criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree
- Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree (Weisselberg only)
- Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree (Weisselberg only)
- Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree (Weisselberg only)
- Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree (Weisselberg only)
- Falsifying business records in the first degree
- Falsifying business records in the first degree
- Falsifying business records in the first degree
- Falsifying business records in the first degree
In 2018, the company was under scrutiny as the federal prosecutors investigated Cohen for his role in paying hush money to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.
Prosecutors gave limited immunity to Weisselberg, who testified before a grand jury.
According to court documents, Weisselberg was involved in processing monthly payments to Cohen as reimbursement for the hush money.
But CNN reports that prosecutors suspected he lied in his evidence, weighed withdrawing his immunity and considered whether to bring perjury charges.
In particular, they questioned his account of how the company reimbursed Cohen and categorized it as legal expenses, said the sources.
When Cohen was charged in August 2018, the court documents noted that his invoices 'were not in connection with any legal services he had provided in 2017.'
Ultimately, prosecutors decided not to take action against Weisselberg.
The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
And Mary Mulligan, a lawyer for Weisselberg, denied any wrongdoing.
'Allen cooperated fully in the SDNY's extensive investigation,' she told CNN.
'The SDNY charged Michael Cohen with campaign finance and tax violations, and then closed its investigation more than two years ago.'
The current investigation into Weisselberg developed from the prosecution of Cohen and questions about how the Trump Organization reimbursed him.
Last month he and Trump's company were charged in what prosecutors called a 'sweeping and audacious' tax fraud scheme that paid the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition.
Trump himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing. And Weisselberg and the Trump Organization both denied the charges.
It has also emerged that prosecutors have evidence that Weisselberg's son Barry, also a Trump Organization employee, avoided taxes by living for free in a luxury apartment owned by the company.
Barry Weisselberg is the manager of Trump's Wollman ice rink in Central Park.
In the latest twist, the Daily Beast reported that prosecutors in Manhattan have evidence that Barry avoided paying taxes on a company apartment.
Who's who in New York criminal probes into Trump: His longtime CFO, the 'quiet money man' and two Democrat AGs
New York state has opened a criminal investigation into former US president Donald Trump (pictured November 2020)
A Democratic prosecutor nearing the end of his term, a loyal lieutenant of the Trump family and a lawyer determined to sink his former boss: AFP details some of the players in New York's criminal probe into Donald Trump.
Cyrus Vance
The 66-year-old Democrat has been Manhattan District Attorney since 2010. He was the first to launch a criminal investigation into the Republican ex-president.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured May 2020) has doggedly pursued Donald Trump, winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation
Vance, whose father was US Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, has sometimes been accused of a reluctance to prosecute the rich and powerful.
He delayed filing charges against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein before securing a landmark conviction last year.
Vance has doggedly pursued Trump, though, first by winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and secondly by deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation.
He has announced that he will not run for a fourth term when his current one expires in December, and many observers expect him to go out with a bang by filing what would be the first indictment against a former US president.
Letitia James
The Democrat became the first Black woman to become New York state attorney general in 2018.
Since then, the 62-year-old has forged a reputation as a combative and independent prosecutor, filing countless civil actions against large companies, particularly tech giants, and the National Rifle Association .
In addition to Donald Trump, Letitia James (pictured August 2020) is also investigating New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic
When Trump was in the White House, James launched dozens of civil actions against his government.
She is also investigating New York's powerful Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
James has been cited as a possible successor to Cuomo, particularly if her investigation forces him to resign.
Allen Weisselberg: Trump Organization CFO
The 73-year-old is the Trump Organization's long-serving chief financial officer and one of the family's most loyal servants.
He began as an accountant for Trump's father's company before joining the Trump Organization as financial controller in the 1980s when Donald established himself as a Manhattan real estate mogul.
Allen Weisselberg, pictured standing behind former president Donald Trump and his son Donald Jr. in January 2017, has served as the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization since the 1980s
Weisselberg has been around for all of Trump's entrepreneurial adventures, including when his Atlantic City casinos went bust.
According to Barbara Res, a former executive vice president at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg 'thought Trump was a god,' she told the Daily News.
Investigators believe Weisselberg knows all of the Trump family secrets and have been putting pressure on him for months to cooperate with their investigation.
Observers are closely watching whether Weisselberg will turn against his former boss.
Jennifer Weisselberg: Ex-daughter in law of Allen Weisselberg
Earlier this year, investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office were seen carrying boxes of documents and laptops from Weisselberg's Manhattan apartment.
She was married ton Allen Weisselberg's son Barry from 2004 to 2018.
In an interview with DailyMail.com in June, she said the former president is a 'sweet' and 'generous' man who helped pay for her children's private schooling out of kindness and good-will, rather than to dodge taxes.
If there was any unlawful activity within the Trump Organization it would be thanks to her former in-laws who still work for the company.
Up until 2018, the mother-of-two was married to Barry Weisselberg, who manages Trump's Central Park ice rinks, and her father-in-law was Allen Weisselberg, who became the chief financial officer when Trump became president.
'Allen orchestrated the finances, and Donald is just sort of naïve,' Jennifer said.
'It's provable that his trusted CFO is putting and his children in a bad legal position.'
She is also set to testify to the grand jury.
Earlier this year, investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office were seen carrying boxes of documents and laptops from Weisselberg's Manhattan apartment. She was married ton Allen Weisselberg's son Barry from 2004 to 2018
Jeff McConney: Trump Organization Senior Vice President
McConney was known as the man in the Trump Organization who would hand over key documents to Trump and CFO Allen Weisselberg before meetings and would be responsible for cutting checks for big payments.
He was the first high-profile member of Trump's business empire known to have testified in front of the New York Grand Jury deciding whether to indict Trump.
Trump's fixer Michael Cohen told The Daily Beast: 'Think of The Trump Organization as a small, one-teller bank.
'Donald would be the president. Allen would be the branch manager. Jeff would be the teller. Every single transaction was booked through McConney.
Concerns for prosecutors is that McConney is seen as a Trump loyalist and, as The Daily Beast reported, someone who hates left-wing politics.
Michael Cohen
Trump's ex-personal lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for tax evasion and violating campaign finance laws relating to Trump's 2016 vote win.
Cohen was one of Trump's closest henchmen for a decade, once proudly boasting that he was prepared to 'take a bullet' for the real estate mogul-turned-president.
Michael Cohen, pictured March 2021, openly rejoices in former boss Donald Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast
He turned against his former boss, though, deciding to collaborate with federal investigators in Manhattan.
During a Congressional hearing in February 2019, Cohen alleged -- among other things -- that Trump regularly undervalued or overvalued his assets, both with banks and insurance companies.
Cohen openly rejoices in Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast 'Mea Culpa.'
Source: AFP