(CNN) –– Allen Weisselberg, former director financial of the Trump Organization, plead guilty Thursday to a 15-year tax fraud scheme, a person familiar with the matter said. However, the source said Weisselberg will not sign a cooperation agreement to help New York prosecutors in their criminal investigation into the real estate company’s finances.
Weisselberg, a longtime employee and fiercely loyal to former President Donald Trump’s company, is in advanced talks to plead guilty to the indictment, the person said. The judge in the case set a hearing for Thursday morning.
Under the terms of the deal, which is still being finalized, Weisselberg would receive a five-month prison sentence but would serve regarding 100 days behind bars, the person said. Weisselberg faced up to 15 years in prison.
Now, Weisselberg will not accept a cooperative figure, the person said. Although he added that he would testify at trial if the case moves forward and the Trump Organization does not reach a plea agreement. The judge set the trial for October 24.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced the charges last year and sought to win Weisselberg’s cooperation once morest the former president in a broader criminal investigation into the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements. Despite the pressure, Weisselberg did not agree to “change sides” or cooperate once morest Trump or his children. No charges have been filed in that investigation.
A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office might not immediately be reached for comment.
The accusations once morest the Trump Organization
The Trump Organization faces 10 counts and Weisselberg faces 15 felony counts in connection with an alleged scheme dating back to 2005 “to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in a manner that was ‘outside the manuals.'”
Prosecutors say Weisselberg failed to pay taxes on $1.7 million in income, including luxury perks such as a Manhattan apartment, a pair of Mercedes-Benz cars and private school tuition for two family members.
The decision comes following Judge Juan Merchan denied motions by Weisselberg and the Trump Organization to dismiss the tax charges at a hearing last week.
Weisselberg’s guilty plea would come amid Trump’s dramatic legal period. Precisely, last week the former president invoked his Fifth Amendment right during a statement in the framework of the investigation of the attorney general of New York. Thus, Trump refused to answer hundreds of questions regarding the financial statements of the Trump Organization.
In turn, that came two days following the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s private Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. This is part of a criminal investigation into the handling of presidential records, including classified documents.
