Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg begins 5-month jail sentence for perjury
- Weisselberg was the Trump Organization's top fiscal officer for 30 years.
- Earlier this month, he admitted he perjured himself while testifying in Trump's civil fraud trial.
Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump's longtime, loyal chief financial officer, began serving a five-month perjury sentence Wednesday.
Weisselberg, 76, surrendered himself at Manhattan Criminal Court, following a brief sentencing for admittedly lying in a pretrial deposition and on the witness stand during last year's civil fraud trial.
"No, your honor," Weisselberg said, standing at the defense table as he was asked by Judge Laurie Peterson if he had anything to say before sentencing.
The judge ordered he serve the five months Weisselberg previously agreed to last month, when he pleaded guilty to two felony charges of first-degree perjury.
"Take charge," she then told court officers, one of whom snapped the handcuffs on as Weisselberg held his arms behind his back. He did not look over his shoulder as he was escorted out a back door of the courtroom.
Trump's former top money man had admitted earlier this month that he lied to state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and to lawyers for the state Attorney General's office.
Both lies downplayed his and Trump's involvement in what the AG characterized as the biggest single fraudulent exaggeration in the case: Trump's repeated claim to bankers that his penthouse triplex at Trump Tower was 30,000 square feet.
Read the charges Weisselberg admitted to here.
This will be Weisselberg's second term at a New York City jail. The former CFO served 100 days on Rikers Island a year ago for admittedly running a complex, lengthy payroll-tax fraud scheme at the Trump Organization.
"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," his lawyer, Seth L. Rosenberg, said in a press statement.
This story has been updated to include a statement by Weisselberg's lawyer.