By Joseph Tanfani and Jason Szep
(Reuters) – When lawyers asked Donald Trump more than a decade ago to determine who valued the values on some of his features, he shrugged and pointed to his longtime accountant, Allen Weisselberg.
“I think in the end probably Mr. Weisselberg,” he said, testifying in 2007 in a defamation case against a journalist, a case that depends on whether Trump inflated the value of his business empire. “I never got too involved, except that I would give my opinion.”
A judge has dismissed the case, but Trump’s comments illustrate the challenges Weisselberg, 73, now faces as he is being investigated by District Attorney Cy Vance in Manhattan or the former U.S. president and his Trump organization committed financial crimes.
Few people were as deeply involved in Trump’s finances as Weisselberg, a trusted figure in Trump’s family business who started working for Trump’s father, Fred, at the company’s office in Brooklyn in 1973, paying bills and renting apartment towers. watched.
Legal experts and a source familiar with the criminal investigation say prosecutors’ intent is to persuade Weisselberg to cooperate with the investigation into Trump’s actions.
“They want him to turn around,” said the person familiar with the investigation.
A Vance spokesman declined to comment. Attorneys for Weisselberg and Trump did not respond to requests for comment.
The Manhattan District Attorney filed in August for the office to investigate “possibly extensive and protracted criminal activity” at the Trump organization, although he did not fully disclose the scope of the investigation. In a statement in September, he said that ‘mountainous’ misconduct could lead a large jury to investigate possible tax fraud, insurance fraud and the falsification of business records.
Vance’s office and a separate civil investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James are both investigating whether Trump misrepresented the value of his assets for tax benefits, including possible violations.
Weisselberg’s unique position in the Trump organization places him among a small number of people who can provide prosecutors with critical evidence that they want to commit fraud. Legal experts say Trump could try to distance himself from any controversial valuations of his properties and businesses by pointing to Weisselberg’s role as financial gatekeeper, as in the 2007 libel.
“It could very well be that Weisselberg will be Trump’s defense in a criminal case,” said Michael Bachner, a defense attorney who once worked as a prosecutor for Vance in the Manhattan office.
If Trump argues that he merely relies on the advice of his accountants and lawyers, Weisselberg may be in a position to take the heat himself for possible fraudulent transactions, Bachner said – unless the accountant enters into an agreement with prosecutors and Trump implies .
“If I’m Trump, I have to be nervous about this,” he said.
The source familiar with the investigation said that in addition to the Weisselberg investigation, prosecutors also asked questions about his sons, who also had ties to Trump: Jack Weisselberg, a director of Ladder Capital – a firm real estate investment business that has been a creditor for four years. Trump Properties – and Barry Weisselberg, who managed skating rinks under Trump contracts with New York City.
Ladder Capital did not respond to requests for comment. Other managers of Ladder, but not Jack Weisselberg, appear on loan documents involving Trump.
Jack and Barry Weisselberg did not respond to requests for comment.
UNIQUE POSITION OF TRUST
On March 1, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Trump’s last attempt to keep his tax records private, Vance’s office received millions of pages of notes on Trump’s taxes and finances. His office also added a prosecutor, experienced in organized crime and corruption, Mark Pomerantz, to the Trump investigation team and interviewed staff at Ladder Capital.
As chief financial officer of the Trump organization and executive vice president, Weisselberg has developed a unique position of trust with Trump, according to interviews with four former Trump organizations. The official handled Trump’s personal finances as well as the company’s most sensitive financial information.
Barbara Res, former construction manager of Trump, said Weisselberg was part of the Trump family’s inner circle, but he maintained a modest profile. “He was the only one of the managers who would refer to Donald as Mr. Trump, ‘she said. “He was that kind of guy.”
Rest said Trump trusts Weisselberg as a pair of eyes to make sure Trump’s other accountants and lawyers do their job. “Allen would not go outside the company,” she said. ‘Allen did not want to talk; Allen can be trusted to keep things quiet. ”
When Trump’s former lawyer and lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged a sum of money for porn actress Stormy Daniels, Weisselberg was involved in cutting the checks, Cohen testified in a hearing in February 2019 held by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Weisselberg obtained limited immunity from federal prosecutors to provide information in Cohen’s investigation; he was not charged with wrongdoing. Cohen pleaded guilty to tax and campaign financing violations.
Legal experts said Vance could seek a court order to give him access to Weisselberg’s testimony in the federal case against Cohen.
Cohen identified Weisselberg during the 2019 committee hearing as one of the Trump executives who knew Trump blew up assets in statements to insurance companies to lower premiums. In response to questions from Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cohen said he could not confirm a report by the New York Times on whether Trump could confirm undervalued real estate values to lower his taxes.
“Who would know the answers to the questions?” she asked.
“Allen Weisselberg,” Cohen said.
(Reporting by Jason Szep and Joseph Tanfani; editing by Brian Thevenot)