Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Alan Weisselberg (center) arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City for sentencing on April 10, 2024.
Kena Betancur AFP | Getty Images
Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Alan Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison on Wednesday for lying under oath during Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial.
Weisselberg declined to address the judge during a brief hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court. The 76-year-old former executive is expected to go directly to Rikers Island to begin his sentence.
This will be the second time in two years that Weisselberg has been jailed for working for the Trump Organization. He spent three months in jail at Rikers last year after pleading guilty to helping orchestrate the company’s tax fraud scheme.
The tax and perjury charges were filed by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting Trump over allegations he falsified business records as part of a hush-money scheme.
The case is set to be heard in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday. Weisselberg was not required to testify. Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly tried to delay the trial, including claiming that Weisselberg’s sentencing was deliberately scheduled to be closer to the trial to attract more negative news coverage against Trump.
On Monday and Tuesday this week, New York appeals judges rejected two other recent attempts by Trump’s lawyers to delay the hush-money trial.
On March 4, Weisselberg pleaded guilty in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud trial against Trump, his two adult sons, his businesses and their executives. He lied during his testimony.
Weisselberg mistakenly testified that he failed to pay attention to details about Trump’s triplex apartment, which was valued at nearly three times the actual square footage in Trump’s financial statements.
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two counts of lying about the apartment’s size during investigative testimony in 2020, according to his plea agreement with prosecutors.
But he also pleaded guilty to three additional counts of perjury, which centered on false statements Weisselberg made during a May 2023 deposition and October trial testimony.
Trump was found to have fraudulently inflated the value of his properties and other assets in years of financial forms. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay a total of $454 million in fines and interest. Trump is appealing the verdict.
Weisselberg’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment ahead of sentencing.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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