Allen Weisselberg Testifies Trump Family Had Role in Organization's Tax Fraud Scheme

Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg testified on Thursday that the Trumps had a role in the company's tax fraud scheme.

During his testimony, Weisselberg fought back tears as he acknowledged that he had betrayed the Trumps' trust by committing tax fraud crimes to achieve personal gain. The former Trump Organization official confessed during cross-examination by a defense attorney for one of the Trump companies.

Allen Weisselberg Testifies

The testimony came shortly after his remarks as a prosecution witness accused another Trump executive and one of the Trump Organization's many businesses of the crimes. Weisselberg's contrasting testimony marked what is seen as the most dramatic development so far in the trial.

The Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation pleaded not guilty to charges of conducting covert off-the-books payments, free apartments and cars, and other perks to Weisselberg and other top Trump executives.

In a statement, Defense Attorney Alan Futerfas noted that the former Trump Organization chief financial officer worked for the former president's family for roughly 50 years. He noted that the individual rose to his highest post and became trusted to oversee all financial and accounting records for the sprawling business empire, as per USA Today.

Futerfas asked Weisselberg if he honored the trust that the Trump family placed in him, with the former chief financial officer conceding that he did not. When asked if he did it for personal gain, Weisselberg answered, "I did," adding that he was embarrassed by what he did.

Weisselberg became the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's most important witness against the two Trump companies. The situation came after he pleaded guilty in August to all the criminal counts against him in a 2021 indictment that charged him and the two Trump companies.

According to CBS News, in his testimony, Weisselberg also said that former President Donald Trump and two of his children participated in the tax fraud scheme. He said that the Republican businessman, or at times Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr., would sign checks to pay up to $100,000 for private school tuition for Weisselberg's grandchildren.

Trumps' Role in the Tax Fraud Scheme

The former Trump CFO added that he then instructed the company's controller to deduct the $100,000 from his salary, which would allow him to report a smaller income. Several copies of some of the checks that the Trumps signed were shown in court.

Weisselberg added that the first time that the former president signed a tuition check, he told him that he was going to pay Trump back for it. What the former CFO did to repay the gesture was the salary reduction.

The individual also said that he and other executives knew that their practices were illegal and noted that they stopped them when Trump took office. The acts included the company paying Weisselberg and at least one other executive's personal expenses allowed them to avoid income taxes while also allowing the company to avoid payroll taxes.

The trial revealed that the company also paid executives bonuses on tax forms that claimed they were independent contractors when they were actually employees, said Weisselberg, Politico reported.