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| Photo Credit: AP. |
New York Attorney General Letitia James Wednesday sued former President Donald Trump and his adult children over claims of manipulating the value of his business assets to borrow money on more favorable terms. Mr. Trump is also accused of paying lower insurance premiums as well as paying lower taxes.
Referring
the case to state and federal prosecutors which includes the IRS and the
Southern District of New York, the Democratic Attorney General accused Trump,
his family and his business of submitting false documents, adding she believes
it violated state and federal laws, The Washington Times reported.
Ms. James
said the Trump Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg aided the Trump family
to knowingly review and approve financial statements that were fraudulent,
according to The Washington Times.
“Donald
Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich
himself and cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,” Ms. James said,
according to The Washington Times. “He did this with the help of his other
defendants, his children.”
She accused
Trump of inflating the value of his apartment by listing it as 30,000 square
feet instead of its actual size of 11,000 square feet in a case of “deliberate
fraud,” according to The Washington Times.
“Something
that Mr. Trump was well aware of,” Ms. James said.
Ms. Letitia
said the false size resulted in an evaluation of the apartment of $327 million,
even though no apartment in the city has ever sold for such amount.
She noted
that her 280-page lawsuit includes “astounding” violations of the law,
involving nearly two dozen holdings,” according to The Washington Times.
“It includes
examples from 23 assets that were grossly and fraudulently inflated,” Ms. James
said.
Ms. Letitia
is seeking a minimum financial penalty of $250 million against Trump and his
company for allegedly engaging in fraudulent business practices, according to
the Washington Examiner.
"This
investigation revealed that Donald Trump engaged in years of illegal conduct to
inflate his net worth ... to deceive banks and the people of the great state of
New York. Claiming you have money that you do not have does not amount to the
art of the deal. It’s the art of the steal," James declared during a press
briefing, the Washington Examiner reported.
Will Trump and his children be barred from some business dealings in New York?
The attorney
general wants Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump to be
barred from serving as "an officer or director in any corporation" or
similar entity in New York, according to the Washington Examiner. She also
wants Trump and his business company to be barred from "entering into any
New York State commercial real estate acquisition or from applying for
loans" in New York for the next five years, according to the Washington
Examiner.
"Mr.
Trump and the Trump Organization repeatedly and persistently manipulated the
value of assets to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more
favorable terms than [what] would otherwise have been available to the
company," she explained during a press event, according to the Washington
Examiner.
In a swift
response, a lawyer for the former president described the lawsuit as a move by
Letitia to advance her 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," Trump lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement obtained by the
Washington Examiner. "We are confident that our judicial system will not
stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending
our client."
Trump who
earlier described her as a “racist” said on his Trump Social platform:
“I never
thought this case would be brought - until I saw her really bad poll numbers.
She is a fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump‘ platform, despite the fact that
the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her
watch!”
Did Trump obtain fraudulent tax deductions?
James has
been investigating the business mogul over allegations he may have fraudulently
obtained tax deductions and other business favors.
The attorney
general launched a civil investigation into allegations that Trump’s company,
the Trump Organization, misstated the value of prized assets like golf courses
and skyscrapers, misleading lenders and tax authorities, The Associated Press
reported.
In May,
James’ office said it was concluding its probe, adding investigators had
amassed “substantial evidence” that could support legal action such as a
lawsuit, against Trump, and his company or both, according to The Associated
Press.
Trump’s top
executive last month agreed to testify against the company in plea bargain
after pleading guilty for tax evasion on a free apartment, according to The
Associated Press.
Weisselberg,
75, a former longtime chief financial officer and a senior Trump Organization
adviser pleaded guilty to all 15 of the charges brought against him in the
case, The Associated Press reported.
Weisselberg
admitted taking in over $1.7 million worth of untaxed extras – including school
tuition for his grandchildren, a free rent for a Manhattan apartment and lease
payments for a luxury car as well as keeping some of the records off the books,
according to The Associated Press.
The
investigation into the Trump Organization began after Trump’s former personal
lawyer Michael D. Cohen testified to Congress that Mr. Trump and his employees
had manipulated his net worth to suit his interests, The New York Times
reported.