Trump Org loyalist takes blame for tax offences
Donald Trump’s longtime finance chief choked up on the witness stand yesterday, saying he betrayed the Trump family’s trust by scheming to dodge taxes on US$1.7 million (NZ$2.8 million) in company-paid perks, including a Manhattan apartment and luxury cars.
Allen Weisselberg, a senior adviser and ex-chief financial officer at the former president’s Trump Organisation, said he conspired with a subordinate to hide more than a decade’s worth of extras from his taxable income, but that neither Trump nor his family were involved in the scheme.
The Trump Organisation is now on trial, accused of helping Weisselberg and other executives avoid paying income taxes on compensation in addition to their salaries. Prosecutors argue the company is liable because Weisselberg was a ‘‘high managerial agent’’ entrusted to act on its behalf.
‘‘It was my own personal greed that led to this case,’’ said Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to tax crimes and agreed to testify against the company in exchange for a five-month jail sentence.
Asked if he was embarrassed by what he did, a sombre Weisselberg said: ‘‘More than you can imagine.’’
His emotional testimony came on his second day as the prosecution’s star witness, as a company lawyer reminded him on cross-examination of the faith that the Trump family had put in him for decades.
Weisselberg started working for Trump’s father in 1973 and joined Trump as an executive at his thenfledging Trump Organisation in 1986. He wielded immense power as the company, buoyed by Trump’s celebrity, grew from a modest New York City developer into a global golf, hotel and real estate empire.
Weisselberg also recalled helping Trump through the company’s dark times in the early 1990s – including casino bankruptcies and the failure of his Trump Shuttle airline. He reminisced about watching Trump’s three eldest children grow up before his eyes, admitting he was ‘‘among the most trusted people they knew’’.
The Trump Organisation denies wrongdoing. The company could be fined more than US$1 million if convicted, but a guilty verdict could also hamper the company’s ability to get loans and make deals and lead to attempts by governments, such as New York City, to cancel contracts with Trump entities.
The Trump Organisation continues to employ Weisselberg, paying his usual US$640,000 salary even after he went on leave of absence last month. In court, though, the company’s lawyers have portrayed Weisselberg as a loyal lieutenant who went rogue and concocted the tax dodge scheme on his own without Trump or the Trump family knowledge.
Some of Weisselberg’s testimony appeared to underscore that point. But, the 75-year-old executive refuted the defence’s contention that his scheme didn’t help the company’s bottom line, too. He also detailed another financial arrangement, involving holiday bonuses, that had saved the company money for years.
Weisselberg testified that he conspired to hide his perks with the company’s senior vice president and controller, Jeffrey McConney – doing so by fudging payroll records to deduct their cost from his salary. – AP