Former Daughter-in-law of Trump Organization's Long-time CFO Allen Weisselberg

Jennifer Weisselberg | Biography

Co-ordinated With Prosecutors on Trump Organization Tax Fraud Investigations

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Original : August 10, 2021

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Jennifer Weisselberg is a former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg, the Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization. 

Who is Jennifer Weisselberg?

Jennifer Zarnowiec Weisselberg is a former ballet dancer. In 2004, she married Barry Weisslberg, a son of Trump Organization’s CFO Allen Weisselberg. The pair has two children, but Jennifer lost custody of both children after their divorce in 2018. During their divorce proceedings, she learned that an apartment overlooking Central Park, which she thought she and Barry received as a wedding gift from Donald Trump, was not a gift but a corporate property of the Trump Organization. They lived in the apartment rent-free for over seven years, only paying for utilities. Later, she provided some of the important information and documents of tax and financial records and assisted the investigators and prosecutors of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. They had been investigating Trump Organization finances and tax records for many years. 

Early Life and Career

Jennifer Weisselberg is a former ballet dancer. She was born and raised in Longwood, Florida. She attended Lake Mary High School in the school year of 1990. Later, she graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City in 1994.

In 1985, Weisselberg won the regional dance competition at age 13. Later, she pursued dance as a professional career. Later, the New Yorker magazine reported her as a former professional dancer and choreographer.

Ex-husband Berry and Children Custody

In 2004, Jennifer tied the knot with Allen Weisselberg’s son, Barry Weisselberg. Barry worked as a manager of the Trump Organization’s Ice Rinks in Central Park, New York City, until New York City leaders ended its contract with the Trump Organization in 2021. Jennifer and barry together have two children. 

Divorce

Jennifer and Barry were married for 14 years, but their relationship was not healthy, as per Jennifer’s court filings. To the court, Jennifer has made several claims of abuse since 2000. In the court filings, Jennifer accused Barry of “harassment, assault, sexual abuse, forcible touching, strangulation, identity theft, stalking, and grand larceny.” She also said that she suffered severe injuries from Barry, including one that caused her one eye to be partially blind after surgery and another that left permanent damage to her ear and jaw. However, Barry denied the abuse allegations stating that he had never hit Jennifer. He was then not charged with any crimes. He even sought an order of protection against Jennifer, accusing her of “bodily harm” in 2017, which he later withdrew. CBS News would then describe their divorce as a “contentious battle.” Their divorce was finalized in 2018.

Later, Jennifer also lost custody of her two children after she “allegedly had a meltdown” in the courtroom, according to Dailymail. Eventually, Barry accused Jennefer of being mentally unstable, making her dangerously unfit for raising children. Barry also accused her of having a drug and alcohol problem. Such allegations against her granted Barry emergency custody of the children. A judge then sent her to a psychiatric hospital called Bellevue Hospital. However, Jennifer said that the allegations were not true and claimed that her doctors also said her mental health was good.

In an interview with MSNBC in March 2021, she said that she tried to handle the matter of their children privately at first, but after not getting a positive response from her ex-husband, she decided to speak out publicly. NBC News reported in March 2021 that she was still fighting with her ex-husband in court to get back her children.

Information that Assisted in Investigation of Trump Organization’s Finances

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office had been investigating the finances of Donald Trump’s New York-based business empire called the Trump Organization for many years and was also in a years-long battle to acquire Donald Trump’s tax records. In November 2020, investigators working for Manhattan District Attorney CY Vance connected to Jennifer to obtain evidence of the possible tax fraud by the Trump Organization.

The Apartment Story

In an interview with MSNBC, Jennifer said that she believed Donald and Melania Trump gave her and Berry a luxury apartment at 100 Central Park South overlooking Central Park as a wedding gift. She said that she also wrote a thank you note to Trump for the gift. According to Jennifer, she and Barry lived in the apartment from 2005 to around 2013. She said that they paid only about $400 per month for utilities while they were living in the apartment. 

Jennifer told CNN Politics that they left the apartment in 2013 after having two children. According to New York City housing records, the apartment was listed as a rental for $4,950 a month and later sold for $2.85 million in 2014.

It was not until divorce proceedings in 2017 that Jennifer learned through a disposition with Barry that the apartment was not a gift but a corporate property owned by the Trump Organization. The New Yorker reported in March 2021 that “if the apartment was not declared as a form of compensation on the Weisselbergers’ tax forms, prosecutors could use the omission against the couple, as part of an effort to squeeze Allen into cooperating with them.” Later, Jennifer gained access to the joint tax records and found out that the apartment they were living in was not listed in the filings as income.

Similarly, Jennifer told prosecutors that she witnessed a meeting between Trump and Barry in Trump Tower in January 2012. In the meeting, she claimed that Trump told Barry that he would cover Barry’s children’s private school fees instead of a pay rise. According to CNN, documents from Jennifer and Barry’s divorce show that Allen paid thousands of dollars for cars, rent, medical bills, tuition, and more for his son’s family. Jennifer also stated that Trump and her former father-in-law Allen paid for most of their living expenses while she and Barry were married. 

Jennifer also revealed that she had talked with the prosecutors of the District Attorney’s office multiple times. In addition, she told Reuters that she had provided to the DA investigators the tax and financial records for her and her ex-husband. 

According to The New York Times, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged the Trump Organization for operating a 15-year tax fraud scheme in July 2021. Allen was also indicted on tax and fraud charges after prosecutors found out that Allen and the Trump Organization did not declare the $1.7 million in perks and compensation Allen received in tax filings. In addition, the New York Post reported that prosecutors said in Manhattan Supreme Court that Allen was also “hit with scheme conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records charges.” If Allen goes to trial and is convicted of the crime, he could face several years of state prison time.

Testify

In June 2021, Jennifer told CNN Politics that she was prepared to testify before a grand jury as part of the investigation into the Trump Organization.

Did You Know?

• Jennifer Weisselberg and her story is yet to feature on a Wikipedia page.
• Many information about Jennifer's life, including age, childhood, and career development, remains private.