Snbc13.com, september22 – On Wednesday New York Attorney General Letitia James, announced she is suing former president Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization in connection with her yearlong civil investigation into the company’s business practices. Attorney General Letitia James filed her civil lawsuit in a New York state court in Manhattan. The suit, which runs more than 200 pages, James’ office details what it says are Trump’s efforts to inflate his personal net worth to attract favorable loan agreements and alleges more than 200 instances of fraud over 10 years [2011-2021].
The 200-page complaint includes names of Trump’s adult children Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump as defendants, as well as longtime company executives including former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weissenberg.
James wants to permanently prohibit Trump and his adult children from serving as corporate officers or directors of New York-based companies and bar Trump and his company from entering into commercial real estate acquisitions in the state or borrowing money from state-chartered banks for five years.“
She said for too long powerful and wealthy people in the country have operated like the rule doesn’t apply to them, She also said Trump, with the help of his children and other senior executives at his companies has long inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system.” James added that – “The pattern of fraud that was used by Mr. Trump and the Trump organization was astounding,”
James said Trump lied about his Trump Tower apartment to be 30,000 square feet, when it was actually 10,996 square feet, and that its $327 million valuation in 2015,the amount James said is significantly greater than any apartment ever sold in New York City because no New York City apartment had sold for $100 million at the time. She also said Trump valued Mar-a-Lago as high as $739 million by pretending it could be developed for residential use, and that it should have been valued closer to $75 million.
she alleged that, Trump repeatedly counted cash controlled by Vornado Partnership Interests — in which Trump had a limited partnership but no access to the funds — as if it were his own. Trump also inflated the value of “anticipated income” from golf club membership fees. the lawsuit includes numerous examples of allegedly false financial filings, from contending that Trump inflated his net worth as part of a scheme to purchase the Buffalo Bills to his successful bid to build a hotel in the Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C. — which became a prominent hive of pro-Trump activity during his presidency and netted $100 million when it was sold in May.
James added that at her press conference Trump’s lawyers recently proposed a settlement, which her office rejected. But she said her team would consider future proposals to resolve the case. “Our door is open,” for negotiations the attorney general said.
She said Trump might try to move his company or borrow elsewhere, but that would not excuse him from his obligations in New York. James added that “There cannot be different rules for different people in this country or state, and former presidents are no different.”
The attorney general opened her probe after Michael Cohen, who was Trump’s lawyer and fixer before turning on him, said in congressional testimony that the former president had inflated some asset values to save money on loans and insurance.
Trump was called to testify under oath at a Aug. 10 deposition for the probe, where he invoked his right against self-incrimination under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment more than 400 times.
Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer in his statement sad, “The Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its saturated power and authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place,” so the accusations are “meritless.”
Donald trump tweeted a disparaging remarks about James on his truth social platform “weaponizing her office to go after her political opponents!” and calling James, who is Black, a “racist.”
“I never thought this case would be brought — until I saw her really bad poll numbers,” Trump said, referring to James’ re-election campaign. “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!”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has separately charged the Trump Organization with criminal tax fraud, and is preparing for an Oct. 24 trial.
Bragg said in a statement – “Our criminal investigation concerning former President Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization, and its leadership is active and ongoing.”
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