Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg removed as officer of subsidiaries after criminal charges, report says

Business

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg arrives for his arraignment hearing in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., July 1, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Allen Weisselberg, the long-time chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has been removed from several subsidiaries of that company owned by former President Donald Trump on the heels of criminal tax charges against Weisselberg and the firm, a new report said Monday.

One of the subsidiaries, Trump Payroll Corp., had listed Weisselberg holding multiple officer positions before both he and Trump Payroll were charged along with the Trump Organization earlier this month by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing Florida Department of State business records, the newspaper said Trump’s elder son Donald Trump Jr. has taken over officer positions previously held by Weisselberg in Trump Payroll, which handles payroll functions for the Trump Organization.

Weisselberg was also removed as director of the Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited, the report noted.

Despite his removal from those slots, the 73-year-old CFO is expected to remain at the Trump Organization, according to The Journal.

A Trump Organization spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Weisselberg, the Trump Organization and Trump Payroll were charged July 1 in a 15-count indictment accused them of a scheme that since 2005 has helped Weisselberg and other executives at the companies avoid taxes on their compensation.

Trump himself is not charged in the case.

Lawyers for the Trump Organization have denied wrongdoing by the firm, and, with Weisselberg, have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment says that Weisselberg and the company devised the scheme to compensate him and other executives in an “off the books” manner, allowing them to receive “substantial portions of their income through indirect and disguised means.”

Weisselberg had the rent, utilities and garage expenses for his apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side paid for by the Trump Organization, without that compensation being reported to tax authorities, and without paying related taxes, the indictment says.