| Translate This News In |
|---|
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NEW YORK Late Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Donald Trump’s family firm of regularly misrepresenting the worth of its assets to boost its bottom line, alleging that the corporation had engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” activities in court documents.
The filing follows Trump’s recent attempt to prevent James from questioning him and two of his adult children under oath as part of a civil probe into his company, the Trump Organization. James’ investigation into Trump and his firm is still ongoing, and it’s uncertain whether her lawyers will file a lawsuit against them in the future.
Nonetheless, this was the first time the attorney general’s office has made such precise allegations against the former president’s corporation. Her retort adds to the strain on Trump, who is attempting to stifle her probe, which he has dubbed a biassed witch hunt. James is a member of the Democratic Party.
The complaint detailed what James’ office called “misleading claims” about the worth of six Trump properties and the “Trump brand.” Golf courses in Westchester County, New York, and Scotland were among the holdings, as were major structures like Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street in Manhattan.
According to James’ petition, the corporation misrepresented the properties’ value to lenders, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service. The petition claimed that many of the assertions were “usually overstated as part of a trend to show that Trump’s net worth was higher than it would have appeared otherwise.”
Trump’s and his company’s attorneys could not be reached for comment right away.
James can sue Trump and his firm because her probe is civil, but she can’t press criminal charges. Her investigation is underway concurrently with a criminal probe sponsored by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which is looking at some of the same behaviour. James’ office has lawyers working on a separate probe that is still ongoing. After taking office on January 1, Bragg, a Democrat, took over the investigation from his predecessor.
James filed a subpoena in early December, seeking to question Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump as part of her civil investigation. In October 2020, James questioned Eric Trump, another of Trump’s sons.
Following the receipt of the subpoenas, Trump’s lawyers filed a federal complaint, requesting that James’ civil probe be halted and her office be barred from cooperating with the district attorney’s criminal investigation. The lawsuit claimed that James’ inquiry was politically motivated, citing a long litany of her public assaults on Trump as evidence.
Trump’s lawyers also filed court papers in New York state earlier this month, attempting to prevent James’ subpoenas, forcing her to file on Tuesday.
Since March 2019, James, who is vying for re-election this year, has been investigating Trump’s business dealings. She listed the properties she was looking into in prior filings, saying that her investigators were looking into whether Trump had misrepresented the value of numerous properties across the country in order to receive loans and obtain economic and tax benefits.
She went even farther in Tuesday’s petition, citing specific examples of how the former president’s firm misrepresented the value of its assets and how those misrepresentations benefited the company by allowing it to obtain favourable loans, insurance coverage, and tax benefits.
In Manhattan, Trump’s business is already being investigated. The corporation and its former top financial officer were accused in July by then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance with running a 15-year plan to give certain employees off-the-books lavish benefits. Later this year, the case is set to go to trial.
