Former CFO of the Trump Organization Lied Under Oath About Having a Penthouse in the Trump Tower

Forbes has criticized former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg's evidence from Donald Trump's New York fraud trial, which took place earlier this week. The magazine released a piece on Thursday in which the former Trump staffer is accused of perjury during his testimony. He testified as part of the New York attorney general's $250 million lawsuit against Trump and his colleagues, in which they are accused of exaggerating Trump's wealth while dealing with banks. According to the outlet, the Trump Organization utilized false data to arrive at exaggerated estimates, such as pricing Trump's penthouse to be 30,000 square feet when in reality it was 10,996 square feet.

As per the evidence presented on Tuesday in the civil business fraud trial of the former president, Trump signed a paper 30 years ago that indicated the exact size of his New York penthouse, which was subsequently portrayed as significantly bigger on financial accounts. The proof was presented in the form of an email attachment and Weisselberg claimed he viewed the email but not the attachments, saying he already had the paperwork in his corporate file. He said he didn't give the apartment's size any thought since it was only worth a small percentage of Trump's fortune.

He said, "I never even thought about the apartment. It was de minimis, in my mind. It was not something that was that important to me when looking at a $6 billion, $5 billion net worth." Weisselberg denied, on the record, having spoken with Trump about the final financial statements. The former CFO said he looked over the drafts "from a 30,000-foot level", paying specific attention to the descriptions of Trump's properties since they were "very important" to the president. He stated, "It was a little bit of a marketing piece for banks to read about our properties, how well they’re taken care of, that they’re first-class properties. He[Trump] might say, ‘Don’t use the word “beautiful” — use the word “magnificent,”’ or something like that."

Although Weisselberg admitted that several of Trump's assets, such as his Trump Tower penthouse apartment, were overpriced in the firm's financial statements, he repeatedly refused to answer state attorney Louis Solomon's queries, claiming that he either did not know the answers or could not remember them. He definitely considered Trump's apartment, and he played a crucial role in attempting to persuade Forbes over many years that it was worth more than it was over several years. It is hard to digest that Weisselberg actually believes what he is stating in court given that he took a highly extensive approach in analyzing Trump's holdings with Forbes.

A former Trump Organization official testified last week that over the years, the company had dramatically inflated its assessment of the apartment's worth due to several factors, including the boss's popularity and a comparison to the asking price of another triplex, which eventually sold for 60% less. In fact, about six months ago, Weisselberg was released from a New York City prison after spending 100 days for evading taxes on $1.7 million in perks associated with his position as an executive at the Trump Organization. These perks included a Manhattan apartment, school tuition for his grandkids, and luxury vehicles for both Weisselberg and his wife.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 13, 2023. It has since been updated.