Headline Roundup • August 18th, 2022
Former Trump Organization CFO Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, pled guilty to tax fraud charges Thursday.
The 74-year-old was charged with 15 felonies in June 2021 related to concealing more than $1.7 million in off-the-books income over a 15-year period. He is expected to be sentenced to five months at Rikers Island jail and five years probation, and he must pay back the owed money. The plea deal Weisselberg struck will also require him to testify about the Trump family's real estate business and its financial practices when it goes on trial this fall.
Former President Donald Trump wasn't charged with a crime. In 2021, Trump reacted to the charges by accusing the Manhattan District Attorney of using Weisselberg "as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President."
Right-rated outlets were typically more clear that Weisselberg is the former CFO, rather than current. Left-rated outlets highlighted the news more prominently and tended to paint the Trump family and its business in a more negative light. The New York Daily News highlighted how Weisselberg "directly implicated former President Donald Trump’s family real estate business" in the crimes. National Review focused more on Trump's criticism of the trial, and reported that Weisselberg "is not expected to implicate the Trump family, but by pleading guilty, may be leaving the company to face trial alone in October."
Featured Coverage of this Story
REUTERS
The long-time financial chief of Donald Trump's company has pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion charges at a New York court.
Allen Weisselberg, who served as The Trump Organization's chief financial officer, had been charged with concealing more than $1.7m (£1.4m) in off-the-books income.
He is expected to be sentenced to five months at the notorious Rikers Island jail and must pay back the owed money.
Mr Trump has not been charged.
The former president - who is not accused of wrongdoing - has described the Manhattan district attorney's...
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges Thursday as part of a deal that will require him to testify about the financial practices of the Trump real-estate empire that he helped run.
The executive and the company of former president Donald Trump were charged in July of last year with a 15-year tax fraud scheme, and were accused of collecting more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, according to the Associated Press.
Weisselberg is “being used by the Manhattan District Attorney as a...
Molly Crane-Newman/New York Daily News
The Trump Organization’s long-serving financial gatekeeper pleaded guilty to 15 felonies Thursday and directly implicated former President Donald Trump’s family real estate business in a multi-year criminal tax fraud scheme.
Allen Weisselberg admitted to receiving more than $1.7 million in off-the-books perks while chief financial officer of the Trump Organization on top of his hefty salary, defrauding the taxpayer and Uncle Sam by disguising the fringe benefits as work expenses.
As part of his plea deal, the CFO, whose June 2021 indictment came after he refused to flip on Trump, will have...
