The Trump Organization has removed Allen Weisselberg, its chief financial officer, from his leadership positions at dozens of subsidiary companies following a grand jury indictment over charges including grand larceny and tax fraud, according to multiple reports.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday that Weisselberg, 73, had been terminated from his roles at a range of Trump entities in the United States and Scotland, citing public filings and people familiar with the shift. The Journal added that the decision came as he faces a range of charges and as broader discussions are underway about changing his duties. At one company under the Trump Organization umbrella previously led by Weisselberg, the Trump Payroll Corp., two of the former president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are now listed as the senior officers.
The Washington Post later added that paperwork had been filed to remove Weisselberg as a director at 40 subsidiaries of the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg has worked for the Trump family since 1973. The Journal added that he is expected to remain with the company and currently retains the title of chief financial officer of the broader Trump Organization, despite the shifts in his responsibilities.
Prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization last week, alleging a 15-year scheme to defraud city, state and federal tax authorities by concealing the salaries of top executives at the company. A grand jury indictment said Weisselberg himself had hidden more than $1.7 million of his own income, with prosecutors alleging the company effectively kept two sets of books.
The records sent to the government, they claimed, left out large parts of executives’ compensation, including money for apartments, cars and tuition, among other benefits.
“The purpose of the scheme was to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in a manner that was ‘off the books’: the beneficiaries of the scheme received substantial portions of their income through indirect and disguised means, with compensation that was unreported or misreported by [the Trump Organization] to the tax authorities,” the indictment said.
Weisselberg has pleaded not guilty and is expected to dispute the charges.
Trump himself was not indicted, but the charges could have far-reaching effects on the business bearing his name, including on his relationships with banks and business partners. The former president defended Weisselberg shortly after the indictment was released, calling him a “very good man” who had been treated “horribly.”
The DA’s office has been investigating the Trump business for two years, and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has said Trump remains a focus of prosecutors’ investigations into any wrongdoing.