The historic former financial director of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, returned to prison on Wednesday after a five-month sentence for perjury during the recent civil trial for financial fraud of his ex-boss Donald Trump. Allen Weisselberg had already spent several months behind bars for tax fraud, following his conviction in 2022 in a case which also targeted the economic empire of the former President of the United States.
A loyal supporter of Donald Trump, he had to plead guilty again at the beginning of March, this time to perjury, following his hearing during the long trial before civil justice for overvaluations of real estate assets of the Trump Organization. Arriving at court without making any statements, according to an AFP photographer on site, the septuagenarian listened to the sentence pronounced by a judge and was immediately handcuffed to be taken into custody.
Sentenced while Trump himself is on trial
His conviction comes five days before the scheduled opening of the first criminal trial before Donald Trump’s New York courts, linked to the concealment of payments to buy the silence of a former porn star, Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump in 2006, while he was married to his current wife Melania Trump.
Donald Trump has always denied having this relationship with Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. The $130,000 payment was made in the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign won by the Republican billionaire.
Upcoming appearance
This will be the first criminal trial of a former president of the United States, and Donald Trump must appear on trial for falsifying Trump Organization business records to hide these payments. He risks a prison sentence if he is found guilty, in the middle of the campaign for the 2024 presidential election which he hopes to win against Joe Biden. Allen Weisselberg admitted to having lied during the previous civil trial about the value of the Republican billionaire’s real estate, in this case his personal triplex located in Trump Tower in New York.
In this case, the former President of the United States was sentenced on February 16 in civil court by the Supreme Court of the State of New York to a $355 million fine (plus around a hundred million dollars in interest). ) for financial fraud, for having illegally inflated the value of his real estate assets in order to obtain better loan and insurance conditions. He appealed the conviction but had to post a guarantee of 175 million dollars in American justice.