Trumps inflated net worth by billions, says NY state lawsuit
Donald Trump and three of his children have been hit with a fraud lawsuit after a New York investigation into their family company – the Trump Organization.
It alleges that they lied “by billions” about the value of real estate in order to get loans and pay less tax.
Prosecutors say the Trump Organization committed numerous acts of fraud between 2011-21.
Mr Trump has dismissed the lawsuit as “another witch hunt”.
The former president’s eldest children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants alongside two executives at the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney.
The lawsuit has been brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is the state’s most senior lawyer, after a three-year civil investigation.
Her office does not have the power to file criminal charges, but is referring allegations of criminal wrongdoing to federal prosecutors and to the Internal Revenue Service.
“With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system,” Ms James said in a statement.
She said Mr Trump’s own apartment in Trump Tower, which was valued at $327m (£288m), was among the properties whose values were allegedly misrepresented.
“No apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount,” Ms James added.
“White collar financial crime is not a victimless crime,” the attorney general said.
“When the well-connected break the law to take in more money than they are entitled to, it reduces resources available to working people, to regular people, to small businesses and to all tax payers.”
Ms James is asking a court to bar the former president and his children from serving as officers or directors in any New York business.
She also wants the Trump Organization banned from engaging in real estate transactions there for five years.
The announcement comes after Ms James – a Democrat who is running for re-election in November – rejected at least one offer to settle the long-running civil investigation into the company’s business practices.
Blasting the lawsuit on his Truth Social site, Mr Trump branded Ms James, who is black, a racist.
“Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General, Letitia James, who failed in her run for Governor, getting almost zero support from the public,” he wrote.
The Trumps have previously accused Ms James of pursuing a political vendetta, citing remarks she made before being elected as attorney general in 2018 in which she vowed to sue Mr Trump and branded him an “illegitimate president”. (Courtesy BBC)
