[finnbow]

NEW YORK — Allen Weisselberg, the longtime top financial officer of former president Donald Trump’s company, pleaded guilty to more than a dozen counts on Thursday, more than a year after he and the business were indicted and charged with undertaking a long-term scheme to avoid paying taxes by concealing executive pay.

Weisselberg was charged last year with grand larceny and criminal tax fraud, among other alleged crimes. He and the Trump Organization were accused of carrying out a “scheme to defraud” government authorities by failing to report their real compensation. Trump and his namesake company denounced the case at the time and said it was driven by politics.

Appearing in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday morning, Weisselberg, 75, acknowledged guilt on every charge and agreed to testify, if called, at a pending trial for the Trump company. As part of his plea agreement, Weisselberg would spend five months behind bars, followed by five years of probation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...p-guilty-plea/