Trump Organization CFO says he was not disciplined after finding he cheated on tax

The ex-CFO said that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump did not discipline Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump OrganizationTrump Organization, after finding out he had been cheating on his taxes, and gave him a raise to make up for the shortfall.

Weisselberg, 75, testified for a third and final day in the criminal trial of Trump's family business in New York City, where the Trump brothers found out in 2017 that he had been getting off-the books perks and bonuses as an independent contractor. He said that the company was cleaning up its business practices because of the extra scrutiny it got after its longtime boss, Donald Trump, was elected president of the United States. After the 2016 presidential election, Trump's eldest sons took over control of the company.

After the cleanup was completed, were you disciplined or demoted? Susan Hoffinger was asked by the prosecutor. Weisselberg replied, No. Matthew Calamari, the company's chief operating officer, had also been getting bonuses as an independent contractor and was not disciplined, Weisselberg said.

Weisselberg acknowledged that he had used the fact that he was no longer getting perks, like a free apartment and car, to argue for a raise from the Trump brothers, whom he had known since they were children. He said he was given a $200,000 raise in 2019.

Since the practice was no longer going on, I would need some additional income to pay for those expenses, he said.

Asked if the brothers had filled their father with what had happened, he said, I don't know what they told their dad. Weisselberg, the prosecution's star witness, was indicted along with the Trump OrganizationTrump Organization in April of last year in what the government described as a 15-year tax fraud scheme.

In August he pleaded guilty and agreed to testify truthfully against his employer in exchange for a five month jail sentence. He could have faced a sentence of five to 15 years in prison if he was convicted at trial.

On the witness stand, Weisselberg seemed to be walking a tightrope between honoring his deal with prosecutors and offering only muted criticisms of his longtime employers.

He testified on Thursday that it was his own personal greed that led to this, as he said he did not have to pay payroll or Medicare taxes because of his scams. He said on Friday that there were some benefits to the company but mainly it was due to my greed. Weisselberg had also testified Thursday, in his second day on the stand, that the Trumps had not been aware of his schemes or given him permission to commit tax fraud when it was taking place, and that he had betrayed the family's trust in him.

He acknowledged on Friday that the company kept paying him $1 million even after he was charged in the case and pleaded guilty to charges, and that the company was paying for the lawyers who represented him in this case as well.

Hoffinger asked.

The former president sounded off on the case on social media Friday.

There has never been a case like this brought up with 'Fringe Benefits'. Is a long time executive paying tax on the use of a company car, or a company apartment, or payments not even taken by us as a tax deduction? How can I improve my grandchildren's education? He gets jailed and handcuffed for this. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.