April 10, 2024 Updated 10:19 a.m. ET
Allen H. Weisselberg, long-standing financial lieutenant to Donald J. Trump, was sentenced on Wednesday to five months in the Rikers Island jail complex for perjury, concluding a legal saga that has seen him incarcerated twice.
The sentence was delivered by a state court judge in Manhattan, coming just days before Trump’s trial in the same courthouse on allegations of covering up a sex scandal. While Weisselberg wasn’t charged in the same case, his current predicament can be directly linked to his refusal to testify against Trump.
Last month, the 76-year-old Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury stemming from his 2020 questioning by the New York attorney general’s office regarding Trump’s alleged fraud.
During his brief court appearance, Weisselberg, wearing a dark jacket and a blue surgical mask, remained impassive. When asked by the judge if he wanted to make a statement, he simply replied, “no, your honor.”
The sentencing, lasting about three minutes, was notably swifter and less dramatic than his previous incarceration in early 2023.
Neither the Manhattan district attorney’s office nor the New York attorney general’s office provided immediate comments, and Weisselberg’s lawyer, Seth Rosenberg, did not respond to requests for comment.
Weisselberg’s perjury charges arose from an investigation led by Attorney General Letitia James, who accused Trump and several associates, including Weisselberg, of inflating financial statements for better loan terms.
In the ensuing trial, Justice Arthur F. Engoron ordered a $454 million judgment against Trump, with Weisselberg receiving a $1 million penalty and a ban from financial roles in any New York company.
Trump’s legal team has criticized Weisselberg’s prosecution, citing his advanced age. They argue he’s a scapegoat in the broader scrutiny of Trump.
With good behavior, Weisselberg could see his sentence reduced to around 100 days. He is expected to remain in jail throughout Trump’s trial, which begins on Monday.
Weisselberg initially drew attention years ago as the Manhattan district attorney’s office investigated Trump, leveraging his extensive knowledge of the Trump Organization. Despite being seen as a potential asset for prosecutors, Weisselberg remained loyal to Trump, refusing to cooperate.
In 2022, he pleaded guilty to tax fraud but did not implicate Trump directly. The Trump Organization was later convicted, and Weisselberg served about 100 days in jail.
His recent perjury plea centered on false statements he made about Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower during his 2020 testimony to the New York attorney general’s office.
Weisselberg admitted to lying about his knowledge of the apartment’s actual size and his involvement in inflating its square footage during trial testimony.
Prosecutors portrayed Weisselberg as a company loyalist during the trial, questioning his credibility due to a severance agreement that prevented him from cooperating with law enforcement.
In his final ruling, Justice Engoron deemed Weisselberg’s testimony “highly unreliable” due to the terms of the contract.