Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg Sentenced To Six Months In Prison For Perjury, Returns To Rikers Island For Second Time In Two Years

On Wednesday morning, Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was given a five-month prison sentence for perjury in the civil business fraud trial of former President Donald Trump. 

The proceedings occurred in Manhattan criminal court, where Weisselberg chose not to address the judge directly. Weisselberg, 76, is expected to begin his incarceration at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island prison for his two counts of perjury in the first degree immediately.

This marks the second time Weisselberg has been behind bars in two years due to his work with Trump’s company. Previously, he spent three months incarcerated at Rikers Island after he pleaded guilty to his role in a tax fraud scheme for the business. The tax and perjury charges against Weisselberg were brought forth by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is currently pursuing charges against Trump for falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money scheme. The trial for this case is scheduled to commence in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday. 

Under the terms of his plea deal, Weisselberg is not obligated to testify against Trump at the trial.

Trump’s legal team has persistently attempted to postpone the hush money trial with repeated claims that Weisselberg’s sentencing was intentionally scheduled in proximity to it, possibly to generate unfavorable media attention for Trump. These efforts, however, were thwarted when New York appellate judges dismissed two recent requests for trial delays earlier this week. In the trial proceedings, Weisselberg had provided false testimony about his familiarity with the details of Trump’s triplex apartment, which were wildly overestimated in value on Trump’s financial records.

Weisselberg admitted guilt on two counts of perjury related to misrepresenting the size of the apartment during a deposition conducted in 2020 as part of an investigation. He also confessed that he engaged in conduct that led to three additional perjury charges that stemmed from false statements made in a deposition in May 2023 and his trial testimony in October of the same year.

“Allen Weisselberg accepted responsibility for his conduct and now looks forward to the end of this life-altering experience and to returning to his family and his retirement,” said his attorney, Seth Rosenberg, in a statement on Wednesday.