Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump’s former Chief Financial Officer, has pleaded guilty to five counts of perjury in connection to testimony he gave during the former president’s civil fraud trial last fall.
The 76-year-old surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office early Monday, March 4 following weeks of negotiations with prosecutors. He will be sentenced to five months in jail, according to The Associated Press.
Weisselberg, who was sentenced last year to five months in prison after being found guilty of multiple tax fraud charges in 2022, had been suspected of lying about Trump’s finances on the stand during Trump’s trial in October.
Weisselberg answered questions from Judge Laurie Peterson confirming his plea. Weisselberg told the judge he is pleading guilty because he is guilty.
In reviewing the plea agreement, prosecutor Gary Fishman said they considered Weisselberg’s age in not recommending more than five months in prison but said prison time was necessary as the harm caused by perjury “tears at the very fabric” of the justice system.
Weisselberg will be sentenced on April 10. Under the terms of the deal with prosecutors, Weisselberg will be sentenced to five months in jail – a deal identical to the prior arrangement he made in his 2022 plea. In the previous case, he served about 100 days.
During his arraignment Monday morning, March 4, Weisselberg acknowledged he lied when he testified to the attorney general during a 2020 deposition that he never heard Trump falsely misstate the size of Trump’s triplex in a September 2015 interview with a Forbes reporter. He admitted he was present for that Forbes interview.
Weisselberg also admitted he gave false testimony during a May 2023 deposition when he tried to distance himself from the creation of Trump’s inflated personal financial statements at issue in the AG’s civil fraud case. Weisselberg acknowledged he falsely testified when he told state attorneys that “I didn’t delve into the numbers” and that he relied on the property valuations computed by former Trump Org. Controller Jeff McConney.
“These statements were false as Weisselberg was significantly involved in determining what methodology and numbers were used to value properties in the [statements of financial condition],” the complaint says.
According to his plea agreement, Weisselberg also admitted he lied again about these matters on the stand last October during the civil fraud trial, though that is not among the charges to which he pleaded guilty.
