Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg surrendered to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office Thursday morning and is expected to be charged with tax-related crimes, Fox News has learned.
Court officers told Fox News that Weisselberg surrendered to the district attorneys’ office with his attorney Mary Mulligan at around 6:20 a.m., and walked through a back door.
“Mr. Weisselberg intends to plead not guilty and he will fight these charges in court.” Weisselberg’s attorneys Mary E. Mulligan and Bryan C. Skarlatos said in a statement.
Weisselberg is expected to be indicted Thursday afternoon. The Trump Organization itself is also expected to face charges of fraud over perks Weisselberg received that were not counted as income, and thus, allegedly criminally evaded taxes.
“Allen Weisselberg is a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather who has worked at the Trump Organization for 48 years. He is now being used by the Manhattan district attorney as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President,” a Trump Organization spokesperson told Fox News. “The district attorney is bringing a criminal prosecution involving employee benefits that neither the IRS nor any other District Attorney would ever think of bringing.”
The Trump Organization added: “This is not justice; this is politics.”
Vance’s office has been investigating former President Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr., and the Trump Organization for nearly five years for alleged tax fraud. Sources told Fox News that neither the former president nor his sons are expected to face charges.
Weisselberg has been a long-time confidant of the Trump family who has been working for the Trump Organization for decades. No one other than the Trump family knows the former president’s business dealings better than Weisselberg, people close to the matter say.
Vance, a Democrat, became Manhattan DA in 2010, and after three terms chose this year not to run for re-election. His current term ends in January 2022.
In a separate case, New York Attorney General Letitia James last month informed the Trump Organization that their investigation has transitioned to a criminal one, after initially being a civil matter.
“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature,” James spokesman Fabien Levy wrote in a statement to Fox News.
James’ office has been investigating possible violations by the Trump Organization over the way it has valued its holdings as it has sought tax breaks and loans.
Meanwhile, Weisselberg was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York in 2018 to testify in former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s case.
