Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump family’s real estate company, is set to plead guilty on Monday to perjury charges. These charges stem from his testimony during the civil fraud trial involving former President Donald Trump. Sources familiar with the matter have informed ABC News about this development.
The terms of the plea will remain sealed until Weisselberg appears in court on Monday.
Weisselberg will face his second criminal conviction, having previously admitted guilt in 2022 for evading taxes on almost $2 million in unreported income from the Trump Organization. This included perks such as an apartment, a luxury car, and his grandchildren’s school tuition.
According to a report by ABC News last month, 75-year-old Weisselberg was engaged in plea negotiations with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The purpose of these negotiations was to address the charges against him for allegedly providing false testimony during the civil trial in October. This trial resulted in a finding of liability for fraud against Weisselberg, Trump, Trump’s two adult sons, and another former executive of the Trump Organization.
During his testimony, Weisselberg had difficulty explaining why Trump’s Fifth Avenue Manhattan triplex, which measures less than 11,000 square feet, was stated as 30,000 square feet on Trump’s financial records.
During the trial, Weisselberg mentioned that he didn’t pay much attention to it as it was insignificant compared to his overall net worth. He further added that the thought of the apartment never even crossed his mind.
Forbes magazine published an article after Weisselberg’s appearance, which alleged that he had lied under oath. The article also hinted that Weisselberg did consider the apartment, as he had played a significant part in convincing the magazine that the apartment was as large as Trump’s financial statements had indicated.
During the trial, Louis Solomon, a lawyer from the New York attorney general’s office, presented evidence to Weisselberg. This evidence included emails from a Forbes reporter who wanted more information about the size of the apartment. Additionally, a letter signed by Weisselberg was shown, which certified the inflated square footage to Mazars USA, the Trump Organization’s accounting firm at the time.
“Hey, Solomon questioned, Forbes got it wrong, didn’t they? The triplex was actually priced at only 10,996, right?”
“Alright,” Weisselberg finally admitted.
Weisselberg is unlikely to testify in the upcoming criminal trial, which is set to begin later this month. The trial accuses Trump of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
According to court filings by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Weisselberg provided advice to then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen on how to make payments to Daniels and subsequently organized for Cohen to receive reimbursement in monthly installments.
