Out of the frying pan, into the fire: Allen Weisselberg, former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was just released from Rikers Island after testifying against the Trump Organization and pleading guilty to tax fraud. If he doesn’t cooperate with federal prosecutors on another Trump case, he could face new charges.
The New York Times reported on Friday morning that the Manhattan district attorney’s office is considering a new round of criminal charges against Weisselberg, who just served a 100-day sentence at Rikers. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is reportedly eyeing a potential perjury charge, based on statements Weisselberg made under oath during a 2020 interview with the New York attorney general as part of her civil investigation into Trump and his family business.
Bragg’s office is also considering charging the former CFO with inflating numbers on Trump’s annual financial statements.
The potential charges are part of a two-year pressure campaign Bragg has mounted to get Trump’s former associate to testify against Trump personally, especially in light of the federal indictment Bragg brought against Trump earlier this year.
In April, Trump was arraigned on 34 counts of charges for falsifying business records as part of an elaborate hush money scheme dating back to before the 2016 election. Weisselberg was allegedly aware of at least some of the payment, which is likely part of why Bragg has shown interest.
Before Trump’s indictment, though, Weisselberg was charged for a years-long tax fraud scheme with the Trump Organization. He pleaded guilty last August and testified against the company—but not against Trump himself.
The scheme involved the Trump Organization compensating Weisselberg with “perks,” including luxury cards, private school tuition payments for his grandchildren and free rent for an apartment in New York City’s Upper West Side, in order to avoid paying payroll taxes.
He was sentenced to five months in jail back in January and was released last month.
