Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg removed as officer of subsidiaries after tax charges
▶ Watch Video: Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads not guilty to a slew of tax charges
Washington — Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization who is accused of orchestrating a yearslong tax fraud scheme, has been removed as an officer from several of the organization’s subsidiaries, according to sources familiar with the Trump Organization’s operations and public records.
Weisselberg, who was charged with 15 counts by New York prosecutors this month, remains with the Trump Organization, sources told CBS News. The Wall Street Journal first reported the longtime executive was removed as an officer of the subsidiaries.
Public filings with the Florida Division of Corporations show Weisselberg was removed as vice president, secretary and treasurer of at least seven entities tied to the Trump Organization: Trump Payroll Corporation, Trump Endeavor 12, Trump Caribbean, T International Realty, DJT 3 Holdings, DJT Holdings Managing Member and DT Marks Jupiter. The companies all list Trump Tower in New York as their mailing addresses.
The changes are reflected on amended annual reports filed with the state on July 9, which now list Donald Trump Jr,. former President Donald Trump’s oldest son, as holding those roles. Weisselberg’s name was included on annual reports that were filed with the Florida secretary of state in mid-April.
For some of the entities, Eric Trump, Mr. Trump’s second-oldest adult son, is listed in the amended reports as president, while in others he is identified as president, director and chairman.
Each of the amended reports were signed electronically by Trump Jr. A spokeswoman with the Trump Organization did not return a request for comment about the changes.
A grand jury in New York returned a 15-count indictment against Weisselberg and two corporate entities under the Trump Organization earlier this month, marking the first charges to come from the Manhattan district attorney’s yearslong investigation into the former president’s namesake company and its business dealings. The Trump Payroll Corporation, a subsidiary of the Trump Organization, is listed as a co-defendant in the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that over a span of more than 15 years, Weisselberg, 73, engaged in a scheme to avoid paying taxes on $1.7 million of indirect employee compensation.
“This was a sweeping and audacious illegal payments scheme,” Carey Dunne, general counsel for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, said during an arraignment in a lower Manhattan courtroom July 1.
The investigation into the Trump Organization was ongoing, Dunne told the judge.
Weisselberg and lawyers for the Trump Organization entered pleas of not guilty on all counts. Mr. Trump and lawyers for his company argue the charges from New York prosecutors are driven by politics.
Weisselberg has worked for the Trump family since 1973, according to the indictment, serving as an accountant and comptroller for the Trump Organization before he became chief financial officer.