特朗普集团(Trump Organization)前首席财务官艾伦·魏斯勒伯格(Allen Weisselberg)周二作证说，他没有为该公司提供的一系列福利缴税，因为检察官试图证明他的行为牵连公司本身在长达数年的骗税计划中。

与前总统同名的房地产公司唐纳德·特朗普因逃税正在纽约受审。

检察官指控韦斯伯格的行为认罪作为认罪协议的一部分，他正在为检方作证，指控该公司，因为他是受委托代表该公司行事的“高级管理代理人”。

检察官苏珊·霍夫芬格(Susan Hoffinger)向韦斯伯格询问了他作为首席财务官和执行副总裁的所有职能，以及他职位的资历。

“谁是高层管理人员?”霍夫手指问道。

“我是其中之一，”Weisselberg回答。

Weisselberg作证说，特朗普组织支付了他在曼哈顿公寓的租金，他和他妻子的汽车租赁费，车库费用，他孙子的学费，他在佛罗里达的房子的家具和其他个人费用。

"这些是在你报告的赔偿之外收到的?"霍夫手指问道。

“这是正确的，”Weisselberg回答说。

“你没有给它们交税吗?”霍夫手指问。

“这是正确的，”Weisselberg说。

Weisselberg还作证说他的W2税表是假的，因为他们少报了他的收入。

"你为什么不寻求纳税加薪，而不是个人支出?"霍夫手指问道。

2022年11月15日，特朗普集团前首席财务官艾伦·魏斯勒伯格离开法庭。

岩村由纪/路透社

“为了获得加薪以支付这些费用，特朗普公司将不得不给我双倍的费用，因为税收将被扣缴，”Weisselberg说。

检察官将节省的费用描述为公司的利益。辩方称Weisselberg是自己行动的。

2005年，Weisselberg从长岛搬到了曼哈顿的一套俯瞰哈德逊河的公寓，他说这是特朗普的主意，所以Weisselberg可以“花更多的时间在办公室，而不是坐在火车上”通勤。

"你在附近对公司有好处吗?"霍夫手指问道。

“是的，这对公司来说很方便，”Weisselberg说。

Weisselberg说，他每年赚64万美元，外加50万美元的奖金——即使他在8月份对面临的所有15项指控认罪后，这个数额仍然没有变化。Weisselberg说，他预计今年会再次发放同样的奖金，但他承认“我还不知道”

特朗普组织负责人杰夫·麦康奈尔(Jeff McConney)周二早些时候作证说，他故意帮助其他高管避免支付某些费用所需的税款，从而违反了法律。

麦康奈尔已经在特朗普集团工作了35年，他作证说，他帮助魏斯塞尔伯格和另一名高管马修·卡拉马里(Matthew Calamari)支付个人费用，而没有必要的税收。

检察官乔希·斯坦尼格拉斯(Josh Steinglass)表示，在其他费用中，该公司每年为魏斯勒伯格在曼哈顿西区的公寓支付10万美元。

“你从未考虑过这是否需要纳税?”他问麦康奈尔。

“不，”麦康奈尔回答道，这让斯坦因格拉斯难以置信地说，“你有会计学的大学学位!”

“你明知故犯，帮助艾伦·魏斯勒伯格用税前美元支付费用?”斯坦尼格拉斯在另一次交流中问道。

“是的，”麦康奈尔回答道。

辩方称，特朗普集团不可能知道任何欺诈行为，因为其当时的会计师Mazars USA从未对这些付款提出警告。

然而，斯坦格拉斯在这一点上质疑麦康奈尔。

“你觉得没有报告代表艾伦·魏斯勒伯格和马修·卡拉马里支付的个人费用是合理的吗，因为这取决于马扎尔斯来抓你?”斯坦尼格拉斯问道。

“没有，”麦康奈尔回答说。

斯坦尼格拉斯向麦康奈尔展示了他建议故意掩盖的总分类账条目，这些支出是以谁的名义支付的。

“从第11行的这个条目中，你能清楚地看出这是一个住宅公寓吗?”斯坦尼格拉斯问道。

“不，”麦康奈尔说。

“里面有艾伦·韦塞尔伯格的名字吗?还是公寓号?”斯坦尼格拉斯问道。

“没有，”麦康奈尔回答道。

在特朗普组织支付账单的应付账款主管黛博拉·塔拉索夫(Deborah Tarasoff)作证说，她支付了魏斯塞尔伯格公寓的租金，并为魏斯塞尔伯格和他的妻子支付了豪华汽车的租金。

"你知道艾伦·维斯伯格和他妻子的租车费用是由特朗普公司支付的吗?"斯坦尼格拉斯问她。

“是的，”塔拉索夫回答说，她的证词换来了豁免权。“我付了账单。”

当塔拉索夫被问及“E350W4”是否指的是梅赛德斯-奔驰的一款车型时，她在法庭上引起了一阵笑声。

“我不知道——我买不起奔驰，”塔拉索夫回答道。

塔拉索夫说，韦斯伯格收到的其他津贴包括哥伦比亚文法学校的学费Weisselberg孙子的预备学校。塔拉索夫告诉陪审团，她在2016年修改了公司的总分类账，删除了12处与学费支付有关的韦斯伯格的名字。

“艾伦把我叫到他的办公室，让我这么做，”塔拉索夫说。“他说，‘我要你进去把我的名字去掉。’"

塔拉索夫作证说，Weisselberg没有解释原因，但她不担心修改四五年前的交易记录。

检察官表示，特朗普组织试图在特朗普开始竞选时清理其涉嫌的欺诈行为，因为高管们知道该公司将受到额外的审查。

麦康奈尔作证说，特朗普本人并不知道这起欺诈事件。

“据你所知，特朗普总统不知道?”辩护律师苏珊·内切尔斯问他。

“正确，”麦康奈尔回答道。

麦康奈尔在证人席上呆了五天，他还表示，他从未告诉特朗普的儿子埃里克·特朗普(Eric Trump)两名高管涉嫌税务欺诈。特朗普的儿子在他父亲任职期间经营该公司。

该审判是特朗普在准备宣布他的总统任期时面临的几项法律挑战之一第三次竞选总统

Former Trump Organization CFO testifies he didn't pay taxes on numerous perks

Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg testified Tuesday that he didn't pay taxes on a range of perks provided by the company, as prosecutors sought to show his actionsimplicate the company itselfin a years-long tax fraud scheme.

The namesake real estate company of former PresidentDonald Trumpis on trial in New York City for tax evasion.

Prosecutors allege that the actions of Weisselberg, whopleaded guiltyin August and is testifying for the prosecution as part of a plea deal, implicate the company because he was a "high managerial agent" entrusted to act on its behalf.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Weisselberg about all of his functions as chief financial officer and executive vice president, and about the seniority of his position.

"Who were the top executives?" Hoffinger asked.

"I was one of them," Weisselberg replied.

Weisselberg testified that the Trump Organization paid the rent on his Manhattan apartment, the leases on cars for himself and his wife, garage expenses, tuition for his grandchildren, furniture for his house in Florida, and other personal expenses.

"Those were received in addition to your reported compensation?” Hoffinger asked.

"That's correct," Weisselberg replied.

"And you didn't pay taxes on them?" asked Hoffinger.

"That's correct," said Weisselberg.

Weisselberg also testified that his W2 tax forms were false because they underreported his income.

"Why didn't you seek a taxed raise instead of personal expenses?" Hoffinger asked.

"In order to get a raise to be able to pay for those expenses, the Trump Corporation would have had to give me double the amount of those expenses because taxes would have been withheld," Weisselberg said.

Prosecutors portrayed the savings as a benefit to the company. The defense has said Weisselberg acted on his own.

Weisselberg, who in 2005 moved from Long Island to a Manhattan apartment overlooking the Hudson River, said the move was Trump's idea so Weisselberg could "spend more time at the office rather than sitting on the train" commuting.

"Was that a benefit to the company to have you close by?" Hoffinger asked.

"It was convenient for the company, yes," Weisselberg said.

Weisselberg said he earned $640,000 per year plus a $500,000 bonus -- an amount that remained unchanged even after he pleaded guilty in August to all 15 counts that he faced. Weisselberg said he expected to make the same bonus again this year, but conceded that "I don’t know yet."

Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney, testifying earlier Tuesday, said that he knowingly broke the law by helping other executives avoid paying required taxes on certain expenses.

McConney, who has been employed by the Trump Organization for 35 years, testified that he helped Weisselberg, and another executive, Matthew Calamari, pay personal expenses without the requisite taxes.

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass said that among other expenses, the company paid $100,000 per year for Weisselberg's apartment on the West Side of Manhattan.

"You never considered whether that might be taxable?" he asked McConney.

"No," replied McConney, prompting Steinglass to say, incredulously, "You have a college degree in accounting!"

"You were knowingly breaking the law by helping Allen Weisselberg pay expenses with pre-tax dollars?" Steinglass asked in a separate exchange.

"Yes," McConney replied.

The defense says the Trump Organization could not have known of any fraud because its accountant at the time, Mazars USA, never raised red flags about the payments.

Steinglass, however, questioned McConney on that point.

"Did you feel justified in failing to report personal expenses paid on behalf of Allen Weisselberg and Matthew Calamari because it was up to Mazars to catch you?" Steinglass asked.

"No," McConney answered.

Steinglass showed McConney general ledger entries that he suggested intentionally obscured on whose behalf expenses were paid.

"Is it clear from this entry here, line 11, can you even tell this is a residential apartment?" Steinglass asked.

"No," McConney said.

"Does it contain Allen Weisselberg's name? Or the apartment number?" Steinglass asked.

"No," McConney replied.

Accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff, who paid the bills at the Trump Organization, testified that she paid the rent on Weisselberg's apartment and paid the leases for luxury cars for Weisselberg and his wife.

"Were you aware Allen Weisselberg and his wife had car leases paid by the Trump Corporation?" Steinglass asked her.

"Yes," replied Tarasoff, who received immunity in exchange for her testimony. "I paid the bills."

At one point Tarasoff drew a laugh in the courtroom when she was asked whether "E350W4" referred to a model of Mercedes Benz.

"I don't know -- I can't afford a Mercedes," Tarasoff replied.

Other perks Tarasoff said Weisselberg received included school tuition at Columbia Grammar& Preparatory School for Weisselberg's grandchildren. Tarasoff told the jury that she altered the company's general ledger in 2016 to remove 12 references to Weisselberg's name in connection with the tuition payments.

"Allen called me into his office and told me to do it," Tarasoff said. "He said, 'I want you to go in and take my name off.'"

Tarasoff testified that Weisselberg did not explain why, but that she had no concern about altering records of transactions from four or five years prior.

Prosecutors have said the Trump Organization tried to clean up its alleged fraud when Trump began running for office, because executives knew the company would come under additional scrutiny.

McConney testified that Trump himself was unaware of the fraud.

"As far as you knew, President Trump had no idea?" defense attorney Susan Necheles asked him.

"Correct," McConney replied.

McConney, who spent five days on the witness stand, also said he never told Trump's son Eric Trump, who ran the company while his father was in office, that two top executives were committing tax fraud.

The trial is among several legal challenges Trump faces as he prepares to announce histhird run for the presidency.