Sources: Longtime Trump Organization executive is negotiating guilty plea to fraud

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/16/ [login to see] /sources-longtime-trump-organization-executive-is-negotiating-guilty-plea-to-frau
Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, is in talks to plead guilty in a wide-ranging fraud case, two people familiar with the case tell NPR.

The move comes just days after New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan denied a motion to dismiss the case, and set a trial date for late October. Court records show a hearing for Weisselberg was just added to the court calendar for Thursday.

While discussions are still ongoing, one of the sources said, the deal could mean a relatively short jail sentence for Weisselberg in exchange for pleading guilty, without an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors.

In July 2021, Weisselberg, along with two Trump corporate entities, were charged with multiple felonies for an alleged 16-year scheme to avoid paying taxes by compensating Weisselberg with untaxed benefits like a luxury apartment, a Mercedes-Benz, and private school tuition for his grandchildren. The scheme, prosecutor Carey Dunne said at the time, "was orchestrated by the most senior executives, who were financially benefiting themselves and the company, by getting secret pay raises at the expense of state and federal taxpayers."