Manhattan DA Subpoenas School Attended by Trump CFO’s Grandkids
Manhattan DA Subpoenas School Attended by Trump CFO’s Grandkids
(Bloomberg) -- New York prosecutors have subpoenaed an elite private school attended by the grandchildren of Allen Weisselberg -- the chief financial officer of Trump Organization Inc. -- as part of their investigation of former President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The subpoena to Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School appears to be part of an ongoing effort by investigators to determine how Trump’s company and its senior executives classified payments made on behalf of employees.
Over an eight-year period, the school received hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks that came from Allen Weisselberg or the Trump Organization, Jennifer Weisselberg, the ex-wife of CFO’s son Barry, said in an interview Thursday. The couple sent both of their children to the school.
Investigators from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. began their probe of Trump and the Trump Organization after evidence emerged that the company had created phony invoices to compensate Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for paying off an adult film actress in the weeks leading up the 2016 election.
Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, among other crimes. Vance’s office appears to be looking for other areas where Trump Organization officials might have altered the firm’s books and records.
A spokesman for Vance declined to comment on the subpoena, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Neither a school administrator nor the school’s outside lawyer responded to calls and emails seeking comment. A representative of the Trump Organization didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Prosecutors have already examined another financial tie between Barry Weisselberg and the Trump Organization. When Barry married Jennifer in 2004, the company provided them with a rent-free apartment overlooking Central Park.
“Jennifer will continue to cooperate with all relevant authorities on any matter she is asked about,” Duncan Levin, an attorney Jennifer Weisselberg, said Thursday.
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