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Prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump's business empire are reported to have evidence that Barry Weisselberg, a Trump Organization employee, avoided taxes by living for free in a luxury apartment owned by the company. 

Weisselberg is the manager of Trump's Wollman ice rink in Central Park and the son of Allen Weisselberg, 73, the company's chief financial officer who last month was charged with tax fraud in a New York court. 

In the latest twist, the Daily Beast reported that prosecutors in Manhattan have evidence that Barry avoided paying taxes on a company apartment.

It said details emerged from a decade of financial documents handed over by Weisselberg's ex-wife Jennifer, who has emerged as a key witness.  

Three people familiar with the investigation told the news organization that is was not clear whether prosecutors were planning to use the information to pressure Weisselberg to flip, potentially giving evidence against Trump and his businesses. 

Barry Weisselberg is the manager of Trump's Wollman ice rink in Central Park and the son of Allen Weisselberg, the company's chief financial officer who last month was charged with tax fraud in a New York court

From left to right, Weisselberg with his father Allen and brother Jack, who does not work for the Trump Organization

Last month, Allen Weisselberg appeared in court where he and the Trump Organization were charged in a 15-count indictment accusing them of a tax fraud scheme

Last month his father and Trump's company were charged in what prosecutors called a 'sweeping and audacious' tax fraud scheme that paid the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. 

Trump himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing. And the Weisselberg senior and his company both denied the charges.

Nor was the younger Weisselberg named in the indictment, but it gave a clue that his living arrangements were under scrutiny. 

It described a residence in a Trump-owned apartment in Central Park in 2018. 

'In 2018, Weisselberg's family member was allowed to occupy a different Trump-owned apartment on East 61st Street in Manhattan, with no reported rent at all," the indictment said.

'The value of lodging provided to [Allen] Weisselberg's family member constituted income to that family member, and the defendants were required to report that income and to pay withholding taxes on it to the federal, state, and local tax authorities. The defendants intentionally failed to do so.' 

Other perks being investigated include hundreds of thousands of dollars in school fees for Barry Weisselberg's children. 

Jennifer Weisselberg reportedly made the claims in a Zoom interview with investigators in June.

Her frequent media appearances, in which she kept up a running commentary of developments in the case, led to a New York judge issuing a gag order  

Reports suggest that her documents and grand jury testimony were central to his indictment and, in a series of media interviews, she has described how her children's private school fees were paid by the Trump Organization as an untaxed perk. 

Weisselberg said she handed over financial records from her divorce to investigators probing the Trump Organization. When asked which of her documents might have contributed to the case, she said: 'All of it.'

Allen Weisselberg was the Trump Organization's chief finance officer until he stepped down after being charged with a tax fraud scheme inside the company. He has denied the charges

But it has now emerged that she has been under a gag order since March as part of divorce proceedings, according to a document obtained by the Daily Beast. 

'ORDERED that Defendant, Jennifer Weisselberg, shall refrain from having any discussions or interviews whatsoever with the press about the parties’ children... the custody proceeding pending before the court or her motivation for giving interviews insofar as it concerns the children,' reads the order, signed by New York County Supreme Court Justice Lori Sattler. 

Jennifer Weisselberg has been outspoken in her criticism of the Trump Organization and described repeatedly how she kept boxes of financial records collected during her divorce from Allen Weisselberg's son Barry, who also works for the former president's company. 

Her lawyers say it is all part of a concerted effort to silence her.  

'What we have here is a concerted effort to keep my client quiet,' said her former attorney Aimee Richter during a hearing in May, according to the Daily Beast. 

The order was apparently issued after an attorney appointed by the court to represent the children's interests expressed concerns about repeated media interest in the couple's corporate apartment and questions about the custody case. 

It marks the latest twist in a divorce that reportedly yielded crucial information in the criminal case.

Witnesses said in April that they saw Jennifer Weisselberg wheeling a valet cart piled with boxes and a laptop computer to to a black Jeep with tinted windows waiting outside her apartment.

The documents are believed to include information about apartments and tuition paid for by the Trump Organization for the couple's two children, as investigators probe whether the perks were properly declared for tax purposes.

'For me, when the government calls you, it's your civic duty and there's nothing wrong with telling the truth. It wasn't really a choice; they called me,' she told CNN.

'I'm happy to be as honest and transparent and just be forthcoming because I don't have anything to hide.' 

She has kept up a running commentary on the case against the Trump Organization. 

Jennifer Weisselberg has said she believes her former father-in-law will 'flip,' offering evidence against former President Donald Trump

In an interview in May she said she was certain that the company's chief financial officer would 'flip' on former President Trump. 

Soon afterwards she claimed that she was being evicted from her home.

'Yesterday, I was served to leave my apartment within the next seven days. It's a threat,' she said on CNN's New Day, explaining that her former father-in-law remained a guarantor on her lease.

A month later she told DailyMail.com she did not believe Trump was involved in tax evasion. 

'Allen orchestrated the finances, and Donald is just sort of naïve,' she said.

'It's provable that his trusted CFO is putting [Trump] and his children in a bad legal position.' 

She claimed Weisselberg, 73, would do anything 'to please his boss and continue to show he can save him money.'    

And when her former father-in-law and the company were charged at the start of July, she was asked which of her documents might have contributed to the case: 'All of it,' she told CNN's New Day.

Weisselberg is accused of failing to pay tax on $1.76 million of perks since 2005, according to the 25-page, 15-count indictment.

The Trump Organization was also indicted with accusations of conspiracy, grand larceny, tax fraud and falsifying business accounts.

The indictment accused Weisselberg of failing to pay tax on two leased Mercedes-Benzes, a rent-free apartment, bonuses and school fees paid for by the Trump Organization.

It also said that other, unnamed executives were given similar benefits and that Weisselberg orchestrated the scheme with 'others.'

The various schemes alleged in the indictment include: $1,174,018 in untaxed income used to pay Weisselberg's rent $359,058 in unreported compensation for private school fees $196,245 in untaxed income for Mercedes Benz leases $29,400 in under-the-table cash used to pay holiday tips.

Wiesselberg and the company have both denied any wrongdoing. 

Who's who in New York criminal probes into Trump: His longtime CFO, the 'quiet money man' and two Democrat AGs

New York state has opened a criminal investigation into former US president Donald Trump (pictured November 2020)

A Democratic prosecutor nearing the end of his term, a loyal lieutenant of the Trump family and a lawyer determined to sink his former boss: AFP details some of the players in New York's criminal probe into Donald Trump.

Cyrus Vance

The 66-year-old Democrat has been Manhattan District Attorney since 2010. He was the first to launch a criminal investigation into the Republican ex-president.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured May 2020) has doggedly pursued Donald Trump, winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation

Vance, whose father was US Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, has sometimes been accused of a reluctance to prosecute the rich and powerful.

He delayed filing charges against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein before securing a landmark conviction last year.

Vance has doggedly pursued Trump, though, first by winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and secondly by deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation.

He has announced that he will not run for a fourth term when his current one expires in December, and many observers expect him to go out with a bang by filing what would be the first indictment against a former US president.

Letitia James

The Democrat became the first Black woman to become New York state attorney general in 2018.

Since then, the 62-year-old has forged a reputation as a combative and independent prosecutor, filing countless civil actions against large companies, particularly tech giants, and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

In addition to Donald Trump, Letitia James (pictured August 2020) is also investigating New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic

When Trump was in the White House, James launched dozens of civil actions against his government.

She is also investigating New York's powerful Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

James has been cited as a possible successor to Cuomo, particularly if her investigation forces him to resign.

Allen Weisselberg: Trump Organization CFO

The 73-year-old is the Trump Organization's long-serving chief financial officer and one of the family's most loyal servants.

He began as an accountant for Trump's father's company before joining the Trump Organization as financial controller in the 1980s when Donald established himself as a Manhattan real estate mogul.

Allen Weisselberg, pictured standing behind former president Donald Trump and his son Donald Jr. in January 2017, has served as the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization since the 1980s

Weisselberg has been around for all of Trump's entrepreneurial adventures, including when his Atlantic City casinos went bust.

According to Barbara Res, a former executive vice president at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg 'thought Trump was a god,' she told the Daily News.

Investigators believe Weisselberg knows all of the Trump family secrets and have been putting pressure on him for months to cooperate with their investigation.

Observers are closely watching whether Weisselberg will turn against his former boss. 

Jennifer Weisselberg: Ex-daughter in law of Allen Weisselberg

Earlier this year, investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office were seen carrying boxes of documents and laptops from Weisselberg's Manhattan apartment. 

She was married ton Allen Weisselberg's son Barry from 2004 to 2018.

In an interview with DailyMail.com in June, she said the former president is a 'sweet' and 'generous' man who helped pay for her children's private schooling out of kindness and good-will, rather than to dodge taxes. 

If there was any unlawful activity within the Trump Organization it would be thanks to her former in-laws who still work for the company.

Up until 2018, the mother-of-two was married to Barry Weisselberg, who manages Trump's Central Park ice rinks, and her father-in-law was Allen Weisselberg, who became the chief financial officer when Trump became president.  

'Allen orchestrated the finances, and Donald is just sort of naïve,' Jennifer said.

'It's provable that his trusted CFO is putting [Trump] and his children in a bad legal position.' 

 She is also set to testify to the grand jury.

Earlier this year, investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office were seen carrying boxes of documents and laptops from Weisselberg's Manhattan apartment. She was married ton Allen Weisselberg's son Barry (right) from 2004 to 2018

Jeff McConney: Trump Organization Senior Vice President

McConney was known as the man in the Trump Organization who would hand over key documents to Trump and CFO Allen Weisselberg before meetings and would be responsible for cutting checks for big payments.

He was the first high-profile member of Trump's business empire known to have testified in front of the New York Grand Jury deciding whether to indict Trump.

Trump's fixer Michael Cohen told The Daily Beast:  'Think of The Trump Organization as a small, one-teller bank.

'Donald [Trump] would be the president. Allen [Weisselberg] would be the branch manager. Jeff [McConney] would be the teller. Every single transaction was booked through McConney. 

Concerns for prosecutors is that McConney is seen as a Trump loyalist and, as The Daily Beast reported, someone who hates left-wing politics. 

Michael Cohen

Trump's ex-personal lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for tax evasion and violating campaign finance laws relating to Trump's 2016 vote win.

Cohen was one of Trump's closest henchmen for a decade, once proudly boasting that he was prepared to 'take a bullet' for the real estate mogul-turned-president.

Michael Cohen, pictured March 2021, openly rejoices in former boss Donald Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast

He turned against his former boss, though, deciding to collaborate with federal investigators in Manhattan.

During a Congressional hearing in February 2019, Cohen alleged -- among other things -- that Trump regularly undervalued or overvalued his assets, both with banks and insurance companies.

Cohen openly rejoices in Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast 'Mea Culpa.'

Source: AFP

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