Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump’s lesser-known right-hand man , has worked for the Trump Organization for nearly half a century, spending the last 30 years as its chief financial officer.
This Thursday, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion and will have to testify in the trial against the company, according to a press release from the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
The former CFO pleaded guilty to 15 counts of tax fraud and evasion involving $1.76 million in unreported income between 2005 and 2021, according to the release.
Weisselberg, now 75, began working as an accountant for Trump’s father, Frederick Christ Trump, in 1973 after graduating from Pace University with a degree in accounting and finance. Shortly after joining the company, he began putting in extra hours at night and on weekends helping Donald Trump on various projects, joining the younger Trump full-time in 1986, .
As chief financial officer, Weisselberg handled Trump’s money across a wide portfolio of projects, which sometimes have a blurred line between personal and business matters. He helped Trump with tax returns, negotiated his loans, signed bank accounts and oversaw spending decisions at the now-closed Trump University.
Trump’s former campaign advisers wrote that Weisselberg “knows every penny that leaves the building.”
In 2018, Trump’s former lawyer Weisselberg signed checks that were refunds for illegal money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from speaking about an affair she had with Trump. Weisselberg finally after testifying before a grand jury.
His relationship with Trump also extends to the personal sphere. , who cooperated with investigators, the Trump Organization was at the center of the Weisselberg family’s universe.
“Allen wouldn’t take an hour or a day off if Donald was in the office because I think he felt like he had to be there all the time.” .
Both of Allen Weisselberg’s sons are also linked to Trump. works at Ladder Capital, a commercial real estate trust that is a major lender to Donald Trump, . Barry Weisselberg managed the Wollman Rink in Central Park, which was operated by the Trump Organization until early 2021.
In 1978, Allen Weisselberg and his wife, Hilary, bought a modest house in When Trump visited, he reportedly exclaimed, “Is this where my ? It’s embarrassing!” The couple later moved into a luxury apartment building owned by Trump on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, which is one of the gifts investigated in the Weisselberg indictment.
While it’s not illegal to reward top employees with lavish gifts, fringe benefits can count as compensation subject to income tax, which was allegedly not paid in Weisselberg’s case.
