Donald Trump and his family members have lied to lenders and insurers for years, adding and deflating its value by billions for tax purposes, according to a lawsuit filed by the New York State Attorney General on Wednesday.
Chief Prosecutor Letitia James said the former president, with the help of his children and other Trump Organization employees, provided fraudulent information about his assets “to obtain and honor loans, receive insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes.”
“In short, he lied to gain massive financial benefits.”
The probe is one of many criminal, civil and congressional probes into Trump, who is seeking another run for the White House in 2024.
A Trump spokesman condemned the civil lawsuit as a political act by Democrats against the Republican businessman.
“A tale of two justice systems – yes, where criminals are free and the Democrats only go after their political opponents!” Liz Harrington wrote on Trump’s online platform Truth Social.
James’ office demanded that the former president pay at least $250 million in penalties and that his family be banned from conducting business in the state.
She also demanded that Trump, along with his children Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, be banned from buying real estate in the state for five years.
– ‘Wrong’ property values ??-
James said her office, which does not have the authority to file criminal charges, issued a criminal referral to the US Department of Justice based on the three-year investigation.
The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that Trump’s financial statements “grossly inflated” the real estate values ??of his fortune — from Mar-a-Lago in Florida to Trump Tower in Manhattan — for at least a decade. overwhelming” degree.
He did this to get cheap credit with lower interest rates and premiums, said James, who is running for re-election.
The lawsuit describes how Trump and his associates would portray that he had cash on hand when he didn’t have it, wildly altered valuation properties, and that he used “objectively incorrect numbers to calculate property values,” including in his famous triplex on the Fifth Avenue.
“White-collar crime is not a victimless crime,” James said.
“When the well-connected break the law to take more money than they’re entitled to, it reduces the resources available to workers, ordinary people, small businesses and all taxpayers.”
James’ lawsuit requires a judge to appoint an independent agency to oversee the Trump Organization’s financial practices and remove the Trumps from their own family business.
