As recapped by a new report from The Daily Beast, prosecutors have evidence that the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg’s son, Barry, “received the very same kind of corporate perks that investigators allege should have been taxed as income” in his father’s case. Alongside the Trump company itself, Allen was recently indicted over a years-long scheme to shield large amounts of corporate benefits from government scrutiny. The Weisselbergs received pricey so-called “perks,” without paying the required taxes. Now, Allen alone is claimed by authorities to have skipped out on paying over $900,000 in taxes.
Barry Weisselberg’s benefiting from perks for which taxes weren’t paid suggests that he too could face legal trouble. Barry has worked for the Trump company as the manager of the Wollman ice rink in Central Park, which the company owns, and according to The Daily Beast, “Details about the financial arrangement, as well as tax returns showing that the additional income was unreported, were delivered to the New York attorney general and Manhattan district attorney by Barry Weisselberg’s ex-wife, Jennifer Weisselberg.” Jennifer has cooperated with the ongoing criminal investigation of the Trump company by Manhattan-area district attorney Cy Vance, whose team brought the charges against Allen and the Trump company.
Specifically, Barry spent some time living in a Manhattan flat, which according to prosecutors had “no reported rent at all” — and thus constituted income for which taxes should have been paid. In 2018, Barry, who was testifying under oath at the time, described that apartment as “a corporate apartment that I was given temporarily,” and he claimed to be unaware if rent payments were being made for the space. New York prosecutors stated that rent was not, in fact, getting paid in their much more recent indictment of Allen Weisselberg and the Trump company. As the indictment put it, referring by all appearances to the place where Barry stayed (although his name wasn’t used), the “value of the lodging provided to [Allen] Weisselberg’s family member constituted income to that family member.”
Other potential benefits for Barry that could be under scrutiny and produce trouble for him include substantial payments from the Trump company covering tuition for two children of his, and The Daily Beast also notes that prosecutors could examine if the Trump company “used Allen Weisselberg to pass untaxed benefits through to his son,” since Barry has previously revealed in a separate context how Allen paid lease payments on two cars for him. Meanwhile, Allen and the Trump company have pleaded not guilty, suggesting that — for now — a trial remains on the horizon, and in the meantime, authorities’ investigation of the Trump company remains ongoing.
