NY Attorney General Letitia James is suing Donald Trump, children, and Trump Organization for $250 million.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing former President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and others for alleged fraud involving false financial statements related to the company.
The civil case has been filed in Manhattan’s Supreme Court and seeks $250 million in damages.
The lawsuit includes banning the Trump family from conducting business in New York
The lawsuit wishes to prohibit Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump from being an officer of a company in New York and permanently ban all Trump companies named in the suit from conducting business in New York state.
James alleges that there is evidence from a three-year investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the IRS, which show violations of federal criminal laws by Trump & Co.
“Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars,” James says.
James says Trump “massively overstated the values of his assets to obtain more favorable loans and insurance terms for his company, as well as to lower its tax obligations.”
“The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year,” the suit alleges.
“All told, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants, as part of a repeated pattern and common scheme, derived more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets included in the 11 Statements covering 2011 through 2021.”
According to the lawsuit, Trump’s personal financial statements “for the period 2011 through 2021 were fraudulent and misleading in both their composition and presentation.”
Eric and Donald Trump Jr. have responded via Twitter.
This is all about politics. Weaponizing her office to go after her political opponents! https://t.co/HENkA84jjh
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 21, 2022
Not a political “witch hunt?!” What a joke… pic.twitter.com/dzuGaW9vNy
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) September 21, 2022
Part of the fraud is that Trump has falsely claimed that his apartment in Manhattan was more than 3x the actual size.
The lawsuit reads, “Mr. Trump’s own triplex apartment in Trump Tower was valued as being 30,000 square feet when it was 10,996 square feet. As a result, in 2015 the apartment was valued at $327 million in total or $29,738 per square foot. That price was absurd given the fact that at that point only one apartment in New York City had ever sold for even $100 million, at a price per square foot of less than $10,000. And that sale was in a newly built, ultra-tall tower. In 30-year-old Trump Tower, the record sale as of 2015 was a mere $16.5 million at a price of less than $4,500 per square foot.”
The lawsuit also states that Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club property in Palm Beach, Florida was assessed on the false premise that it sat on unrestricted property and could be developed for residential use. Mar-a-Lago “generated less than $25 million in annual revenue.” the suit says.
Read the entire lawsuit here.
“It should have been valued at about $75 million, but it was valued at $739 million,” according to the attorney general.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habb responded by saying, “Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law – rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda.”
“It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place,” Habba said.
“We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General’s meritless claims.”
James’ office interviewed more than 65 witnesses and reviewed millions of documents part of the investigation, the lawsuit said.
“Former presidents must be held to the same standards as everyday Americans,” says James.
Ain’t that the truth! 👀
Today, I filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for engaging in years of financial fraud to enrich himself, his family, and the Trump Organization.
There aren't two sets of laws for people in this nation: former presidents must be held to the same standards as everyday Americans.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 21, 2022
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