One area that prosecutors may be investigating is whether the appropriate taxes have been paid on the apartments, people familiar with the matter said. Weisselberg was married to Barry for 14 years until they divorced in 2018. Barry Weisselberg worked for the Trump Organization for more than a decade and was involved in the management of two skating rinks and a carousel in Central Park.
“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,” said Weisselberg. “I am happy to be so honest and transparent and to be frank because I have nothing to hide.”
Prosecutors have launched a wide-ranging network and are examining whether the Trump Organization has misled creditors and insurers about the value of certain properties, the legality of certain tax deductions, including consultancy fees and a servitude taken on a family property known as Seven Springs, people familiar with the investigation say.
They are also examining a loan for a Chicago skyscraper and repaying payments to Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, who facilitated secret payments for women who claimed to have affairs with Trump, people say. Trump denied the cases.
Leverage to pressure an important Trump lieutenant
Researchers have been asking questions about Weisselberg’s children in an effort to try to leverage and pressure the father to cooperate, say people familiar with the matter. It is a common tactic used by prosecutors to try to make people “go crazy” and build a higher case on the corporate ladder.
Financial investigations can be particularly difficult and prosecutors are often assisted by the help of insiders. In addition to combing the gifts Barry Weisselberg received, prosecutors are also asking questions about another son, Jack Weisselberg, who works at Ladder Capital, a company that has lent the Trump Organization more than $ 100 million, people familiar with the investigation said. None of the children were charged with any wrongdoing. Jack Weisselberg could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Allen Weisselberg is a key figure in the Trump Organization and once acknowledged in a testimony that he is Trump’s “eyes and ears” from an economic point of view. He is in the interest of prosecutors because of his close working relationship with the former president. When Trump became president, he passed the company’s day-to-day operations to Weisselberg, along with Trump’s two adult children. Weisselberg initially worked for Donald Trump, Donald’s father, and was the organization’s chief financial officer for decades.
A Weisselberg lawyer, who was not charged with any wrongdoing, declined to comment. A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Cy Vance, declined to comment. It was not possible to contact a Trump Organization lawyer for comment, but the company previously denied any wrongdoing.
Jennifer Weisselberg said that James’s office first contacted her in September last year and since then, she has spoken to prosecutors in Vance’s office several times, all by video.
She said the investigators went to her apartment and collected many documents, that the forensic accountants examined the records and that she hopes to meet with prosecutors again.
Focus on the two tony apartments
One advantage the couple received was an apartment in Central Park South, where she says they lived from 2005 to around 2013. It was not far from one of the ice skating rinks that Barry ran, and Jennifer remembers staying. surprise with him on the day of his bridal shower, when Barry took her to the apartment and said, “This is your wedding present from Donald and Melania.”
Jennifer Weisselberg said the apartment was being renovated at the time and that she was allowed to make decisions about the renovation, including the lighting fixtures and the floor, and that she wrote a letter to Donald and Melania Trump thanking her for the gift.
During the time she lived in the apartment, Jennifer Weisselberg said the couple never received a bill in the mail. Instead, she said, Barry signed checks covering “utilities and costs” that amounted to $ 400 a month and personally delivered them to Trump’s assistant. They also had the same accountant, Donald Bender of the Trump Organization, she said, adding that she believed his fees were paid by his father-in-law. Barry Weisselberg did not comment when contacted by CNN.
“It didn’t make sense to me that this person who was an assistant manager, who had just started working there, would receive this,” said Jennifer Weisselberg to CNN.
After having two children, the couple moved from the apartment in 2013 to one with more space, said Jennifer Weisselberg, and she believes the apartment has been renovated and sold again. Public records show that the unit was sold for $ 2.9 million in 2014.
Jennifer Weisselberg said that it was not until the divorce proceedings were underway in 2017, that she learned from a testimony with Barry that the apartment was not a gift, but a corporate apartment and, if so, could be considered compensation. , which may raise questions about whether it was properly reported in tax returns.
“I didn’t know until that moment, when he said, that it was even a corporate apartment. I was jaw-dropping,” said Jennifer Weisselberg.
While the couple agreed on the terms of the divorce, they lived in another Trump-owned apartment on East 61st Street in Manhattan without paying rent while “making nests,” a common practice in which separate spouses share time with their children separately in the home where they live. children live.
Jennifer Weisselberg said the housing arrangement was stipulated as part of the terms of the divorce. CNN contacted Barry Weisselberg’s family court lawyer to comment several times.
“I didn’t even have a choice,” she said. “I was kind of driven to the place and given the keys. Literally. It turns out that that apartment is considered a corporate apartment in legal documents too. I didn’t even know.”
Barry Weisselberg has temporary full custody of the children.
Jennifer Weisselberg said she feels she has nothing left to lose and said she would be willing to testify if a case were brought up, adding, “I’m not saying this is easy.”