Ex-employee claims size of Trump’s flat was overstated

A person who used to work for Donald Trump has admitted that they were aware that the former president was exaggerating the size of his apartment in Trump Tower.

Allen Weisselberg, who used to be in charge of finances at the Trump Organization, admitted this information during a legal trial in New York.

He said the records were wrong about the flat being 20,000 sq feet bigger than it actually is.

Mr Trump is being accused of making the value of his properties seem higher by over $2 billion (£1. 6 billion)

Former President Trump, his two children Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization, and some business leaders are alleged to have engaged in fraud, manipulated business records, provided false financial statements, and plotted together.

Before the trial began, the judge decided that Trump properties were not worth as much as what the former president and his company claimed. Mr Trump has described the trial as a “witch hunt” being carried out by people he sees as his political enemies.

However, on Tuesday, Mr. Weisselberg stated that the apartment in Trump Tower is about 10,000 square feet (929 square meters), which is different from the 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters) indicated in the financial documents.

Mr Weisselberg initially struggled with talking about the difference in sizes, but later he mentioned that he was more worried about other things being revealed.

Considering the worth of the apartment in relation to his total assets doesn’t really matter. “It’s around 1%,” Mr. When I looked at the financial statement, there were some big things on there that worried me more.

The judge, Arthur Engoron, stopped Mr. Weisselberg while he was talking and said, “You should only answer the questions and not give speeches. ” Please only respond to the questions.

In 2017, Forbes asked about how big the triplex was. They referred to a document from October 1994 where Mr. Trump said the penthouse was 10,996 square feet or 1021 square meters.

From 2012 until now, the triplex has been listed as being 30,000 square feet in size.

Mr Weisselberg admitted that the apartment is actually much smaller than what was stated on the financial documents provided to banks and insurance companies for loan approvals and deals.

This statement comes six months after Mr. Weisselberg was let out of prison. He admitted to cheating on his taxes in 2022 and was in jail for around three months.

The prosecutors in his situation claimed that he received benefits from a company’s plan. These benefits included $1. 76 million, a furnished apartment without rent, private school fees for his grandchildren, and expensive cars.

If the judge agrees with the people trying to prove that Mr. Trump broke the law, he would have to pay a lot of money and would not be allowed to do business in New York.