New York attorney general files civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, some of his
In the more than 200-page lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleges the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.
“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization — including by Mr. Trump himself,” the lawsuit states.
James said she believes state and criminal laws may have been violated and referred the matter to the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service.
James is seeking $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten funds and to permanently bar Trump and the children named in the lawsuit from serving as the director of a business registered in New York state. She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate, which, if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state.
Trump previously called James a “renegade prosecutor” who he said is running a “vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition.” The Trump Organization called her previously allegations “baseless” and denied any wrongdoing.
Responding to Wednesday’s announcement, Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement to CNN: “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.”
Weisselberg’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante, declined to comment.
The civil lawsuit comes as Trump is under increasing legal pressure as prosecutors are taking investigative steps that move ever closer to his inner circle.
Trump is facing numerous criminal investigations from federal and state prosecutors involving the accuracy of his company’s financial statements, interference in the 2020 presidential election, and his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
AG alleges that Trump lied 200+ times about the value of his assets
James alleges that the former President and his company made “scores of fraudulent, false, and misleading representations” over a 10-year period, according to the lawsuit, which specifically highlighted what it called “200 false and misleading valuations” of Trump’s assets.
“The financial statements in question were issued annually; each contained a significant number of fraudulent, false, and misleading representations about a great many of the Trump Organization’s assets; and most played a role in particular transactions with financial institutions,” the lawsuit alleges.
Three-year investigation
The announcement is the latest development in what has been a three-year investigation led by James into the Trump Organization’s finances.
In January, James’ office said it found “significant” evidence indicating the Trump Organization used false or misleading asset valuations in its financial statements to obtain loans, insurance and tax benefits. The following month, Trump’s long-time accounting firm resigned.
James’ launched her investigation in 2019 after Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen testified before Congress alleging that Trump inflated the value of certain assets to obtain loans and insurance and undervalued others to gain tax benefits.
In addition to the new fraud lawsuit, the Trump Organization is going on trial next month on charges it was engaged in a 15-year tax fraud scheme and its long-time chief financial officer has agreed to testify against the company.
In recent weeks, the Trump Organization had offered to settle to ward off the lawsuit even as they denied any wrongdoing, but James’ office made it clear it wasn’t interested in a deal, people familiar with the matter said.
Family was deposed by AG’s office
In April, after a protracted legal fight to enforce subpoenas for Trump and his adult children’s depositions, lawyers with James’ office saying they were nearing the end of the investigation and needed the Trumps’ testimony before making a decision.
Last month, Trump…
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