Post by the Scribe on Sept 21, 2022 17:00:57 GMT
New York A.G. sues Trump and 3 of his children for business fraud
www.yahoo.com/news/letitia-james-sues-trump-family-business-fraud-154641833.html
Dylan Stableford and Christopher Wilson
Wed, September 21, 2022 at 8:46 AM
New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday announced she is suing former President Donald Trump and three of his children for fraud stemming from her long-running civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s business dealings.
“I am announcing today that we are filing a lawsuit against Donald Trump for violating the law as part of his efforts to generate profits for himself, his family and his company,” James said. “The complaint demonstrates that Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and to cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us.”
The civil lawsuit seeks at least $250 million in damages.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $250 million lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and three of his children for business fraud. (Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James)
James said her office interviewed 65 witnesses and reviewed millions of documents as part of its investigation. In addition to Trump, the additional defendants named in the lawsuit include his three eldest children (Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric) as well as former Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney.
“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 otherwise would have been available to the country, to pay lower taxes, to satisfy continuing loan agreements and to induce insurance companies to provide insurance coverage at higher limits and at lower premiums,” James said during the remarks, which came after the 222-page civil complaint was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday morning.
iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=q0KunqL6AzoiHioXkB85aw==
Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, said in a statement: "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. We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General's meritless claims."
An October 2018 report in the New York Times found that Trump had participated in a series of tax schemes related to his father’s real estate empire. James said the investigation began in 2019 after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen discussed these business tactics during testimony under questioning from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in front of the House Oversight Committee.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html
www.yahoo.com/news/questioning-cohen-ocasio-cortez-focuses-on-potential-trump-fraud-230101073.html
Former President Donald Trump is seen at a Save America Rally last weekend in Youngstown to support Republican candidates running for state and federal offices in Ohio. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
James listed a series of allegations against Trump, including misstating the value and size of his own triplex apartment in Trump Tower. She alleged that in some filings, his Florida resort and home Mar-a-Lago was valued as high as $739 million when it should have been closer to $75 million. James also claimed that Trump inflated the value of other properties and unsold memberships at his golf clubs. The formal complaint includes examples from 23 assets, but James said they found more than 200 examples on his filings over the years.
The New York attorney general said she is making a criminal referral to the Internal Revenue Service and Southern District of New York.
James said that they are also asking the court to permanently bar Trump and the three Trump children from serving as an officer or director on any corporation registered or licensed in New York state, as well as banning Trump and his organization from entering into commercial real estate acquisition in the state for five years and from applying for loans with New York-based banks for that same period.
Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump are pictured on the South Lawn of the White House in August 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump attended a deposition with James’ office last month in Manhattan, where he declined to answer questions, using his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In a statement, Trump said he "declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution” and attacked James for what he called a “despicable attempt” to bring down his company.
www.yahoo.com/news/trump-takes-the-fifth-refuses-to-answer-questions-in-probe-of-his-business-dealings-154622252.html
James told a judge in January that Trump’s son Eric invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times in an October 2020 deposition. The former president's other children Donald Jr. and Ivanka, however, reportedly testified in James’s probe in early August and did not invoke the Fifth Amendment.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/eric-trump-invoked-fifth-amendment-about-500-times-n-y-ag-says#xj4y7vzkg
www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ivanka-donald-trump-jr-testify-new-york-civil-probe-rcna41501
The former president is still dealing with a federal investigation into his mishandling of classified documents, which led to the FBI raid on his Florida home last month. Trump is also still under scrutiny for his role in the violence of Jan. 6, 2021, which is being investigated by the Justice Department and a House committee. Additionally, a Georgia district attorney is investigating his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, which voted for Joe Biden.
www.yahoo.com/news/trump-attorneys-object-to-do-js-request-to-continue-reviewing-classified-documents-seized-from-mar-a-lago-164207927.html
www.yahoo.com/news/the-jan-6-committee-has-made-a-compelling-case-against-trump-but-will-he-face-criminal-charges-191541040.html
www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-fulton-county-da-sends-target-letters-to-trump-allies-in-georgia-investigation-152517469.html
www.yahoo.com/news/letitia-james-sues-trump-family-business-fraud-154641833.html
Dylan Stableford and Christopher Wilson
Wed, September 21, 2022 at 8:46 AM
New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday announced she is suing former President Donald Trump and three of his children for fraud stemming from her long-running civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s business dealings.
“I am announcing today that we are filing a lawsuit against Donald Trump for violating the law as part of his efforts to generate profits for himself, his family and his company,” James said. “The complaint demonstrates that Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and to cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us.”
The civil lawsuit seeks at least $250 million in damages.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $250 million lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and three of his children for business fraud. (Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James)
James said her office interviewed 65 witnesses and reviewed millions of documents as part of its investigation. In addition to Trump, the additional defendants named in the lawsuit include his three eldest children (Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric) as well as former Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney.
“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 otherwise would have been available to the country, to pay lower taxes, to satisfy continuing loan agreements and to induce insurance companies to provide insurance coverage at higher limits and at lower premiums,” James said during the remarks, which came after the 222-page civil complaint was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday morning.
iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=q0KunqL6AzoiHioXkB85aw==
Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, said in a statement: "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. We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General's meritless claims."
An October 2018 report in the New York Times found that Trump had participated in a series of tax schemes related to his father’s real estate empire. James said the investigation began in 2019 after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen discussed these business tactics during testimony under questioning from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in front of the House Oversight Committee.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html
www.yahoo.com/news/questioning-cohen-ocasio-cortez-focuses-on-potential-trump-fraud-230101073.html
Former President Donald Trump is seen at a Save America Rally last weekend in Youngstown to support Republican candidates running for state and federal offices in Ohio. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
James listed a series of allegations against Trump, including misstating the value and size of his own triplex apartment in Trump Tower. She alleged that in some filings, his Florida resort and home Mar-a-Lago was valued as high as $739 million when it should have been closer to $75 million. James also claimed that Trump inflated the value of other properties and unsold memberships at his golf clubs. The formal complaint includes examples from 23 assets, but James said they found more than 200 examples on his filings over the years.
The New York attorney general said she is making a criminal referral to the Internal Revenue Service and Southern District of New York.
James said that they are also asking the court to permanently bar Trump and the three Trump children from serving as an officer or director on any corporation registered or licensed in New York state, as well as banning Trump and his organization from entering into commercial real estate acquisition in the state for five years and from applying for loans with New York-based banks for that same period.
Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump are pictured on the South Lawn of the White House in August 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump attended a deposition with James’ office last month in Manhattan, where he declined to answer questions, using his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In a statement, Trump said he "declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution” and attacked James for what he called a “despicable attempt” to bring down his company.
www.yahoo.com/news/trump-takes-the-fifth-refuses-to-answer-questions-in-probe-of-his-business-dealings-154622252.html
James told a judge in January that Trump’s son Eric invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times in an October 2020 deposition. The former president's other children Donald Jr. and Ivanka, however, reportedly testified in James’s probe in early August and did not invoke the Fifth Amendment.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/eric-trump-invoked-fifth-amendment-about-500-times-n-y-ag-says#xj4y7vzkg
www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ivanka-donald-trump-jr-testify-new-york-civil-probe-rcna41501
The former president is still dealing with a federal investigation into his mishandling of classified documents, which led to the FBI raid on his Florida home last month. Trump is also still under scrutiny for his role in the violence of Jan. 6, 2021, which is being investigated by the Justice Department and a House committee. Additionally, a Georgia district attorney is investigating his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, which voted for Joe Biden.
www.yahoo.com/news/trump-attorneys-object-to-do-js-request-to-continue-reviewing-classified-documents-seized-from-mar-a-lago-164207927.html
www.yahoo.com/news/the-jan-6-committee-has-made-a-compelling-case-against-trump-but-will-he-face-criminal-charges-191541040.html
www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-fulton-county-da-sends-target-letters-to-trump-allies-in-georgia-investigation-152517469.html