The Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer has testified that Eric Trump hiked his pay by $200,000 after an internal audit spurred by Trump’s 2016 election found that he had been scheming to dodge taxes on lavish corporate perks
Trump Organization's former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg arrives to the courtroom in New York, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.
Weisselberg told jurors he stopped his scheme after the audit. Soon after, he said, he asked Eric Trump for a raise, conveying to him that “since the practice was no longer going on I would need some additional income to pay for those expenses.” Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty in August to taking $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation. His plea agreement requires him to testify as a prosecution witness in exchange for a five-month jail sentence. Weisselberg, who had been facing as many as 15 years in prison, said he previously rejected an offer of one to three years in prison.
Weisselberg’s testimony Friday suggests that key executives at the Trump Organization and members of Trump’s own family condoned his behavior once it was discovered, rather than firing him and reporting him to the authorities. Weisselberg said the company benefited from his scheme because it did not have to pay him as much in salary.
“Did a longtime executive pay tax on the use of a company car, or a company apartment, or payments for the education of his grandchildren. For this he get handcuffs and jail?” Trump wrote, describing the situation as “VERY UNFAIR!”
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