Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg sent to jail for five months in tax fraud case

Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced Tuesday to five months in jail after pleading guilty to multiple tax crimes as part of an investigation of former President Donald Trump's business empire.

But Weisselberg, who fully cooperated with prosecutors and testified against his longtime employer, could get out sooner, factoring in time off for good behavior.

The 75-year-old former CFO was handcuffed and led out of a Manhattan courtroom shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, after a brief sentencing hearing before state Judge Juan Merchan. He will be immediately transported to Rikers Island jail to begin serving his sentence.

Weisselberg has already paid more than $2 million in taxes and penalties as part of his plea agreement, prosecutors said in the hearing, according to NBC News.

"He satisfied the conditions of his plea agreement," said assistant district attorney Susan Hoffinger, according to NBC.

Weisselberg was also sentenced to five years on probation.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 counts last August, more than a year after he and several of Trump's business entities were charged in what prosecutors called a "systematic" scheme to defraud state and federal tax authorities spanning more than 15 years.

The Manhattan district attorney's office accused Weisselberg of receiving more than $1.7 million in secret compensation as part of that tax avoidance scheme.

"In Manhattan, you have to play by the rules no matter who you are or who you work for," DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement after Weisselberg's sentencing Tuesday afternoon.

Weisselberg "used his high-level position to secure lavish work perks such as a rent-free luxury Manhattan apartment, multiple Mercedes Benz automobiles and private school tuition for his grandchildren — all without paying required taxes," Bragg said.

"Now, he and two Trump companies have been convicted of felonies and Weisselberg will serve a jail sentence for his crimes," the DA's statement added. "These consequential felony convictions put on full display the inner workings of former President Trump's companies and its CFO's actions."

Weisselberg was dressed in casual clothes when he arrived at a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday afternoon ahead of the hearing. He answered no questions as he and his attorney strode past reporters in a hallway outside the courtroom, photos and videos from the courthouse showed.

A prosecutor in Tuesday's hearing had asked Merchan to sentence Weisselberg to six months behind bars, while Weisselberg's attorney had asked for less than five, according to reports from the courthouse.

"Today is obviously a difficult day for him, but it is a day for which he has been preparing for many months," Weisselberg attorney Nicholas Gravante said in a statement. "Mr. Weisselberg came to court today ready to begin his sentence, and he is grateful that it has now begun."

Weisselberg "deeply regrets the lapse in judgment that resulted in his conviction" and caused pain to his wife and family, Gravante said. 

"Mr. Weisselberg also regrets the harm his actions have caused to the Trump Organization and members of the Trump family. He is grateful to them for their continued support throughout this difficult chapter of his life," said the attorney.

Two Trump Organization subsidiaries were convicted last month of crimes including tax fraud and falsifying business records after a trial featuring testimony by Weisselberg, who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his plea deal.

Weisselberg had worked for Trump's family since 1973. He reportedly testified in November that he is still being paid by the Trump Organization and that the company is paying his lawyers.

It is also paying a prison consultant to help prepare Weisselberg for jail, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Trump himself was not charged in the case and has decried the guilty verdict against his company as "a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country."

That verdict came down just weeks after Trump announced his candidacy for president in 2024.