Ex-Trump Org CFO says Trump brothers approved raise, holiday bonus

Details: On the third day of the Trump Organization’s criminal tax fraud trial, Weisselberg said the company gave him a $200,000 pay raise after learning about the tax scheme, per AP.

• Weisselberg — who receives a $640,000 salary with $500,000 in holiday bonuses — said the Trump brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, found out the former CFO was cheating on his taxes in 2017, per NBC News.
• In 2019, his job title was reduced to “senior adviser” and his office was moved within Trump Tower, according to AP.

Zoom in: Weisselberg said that he told the Trump brothers that he needed the raise to pay for expenses that he had previously been receiving off the books, including rent for his Manhattan apartment, two Mercedes-Benz cars and school tuition for his grandchildren, NBC News reports.

• “I told them since the practice was no longer going on I would need some additional income to pay for those expenses,” he said, per NBC.

• Eric Trump signed off on the raise, Weisselberg said.

The big picture: In 2021, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Weisselberg and the Trump family business for taking over $1.7 million in "off the books" perks from the organization, Axios' Erin Doherty writes. Prosecutors said Weisselberg avoided paying taxes on rent and private school tuition.

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