Trump inflated his net worth by $2.2 BILLION in a year
Trump inflated his net worth by $2.2 BILLION in a year, New York’s Attorney General claims in latest filing in $250 million civil lawsuit
- Letitia James revealed financial details about Trump in her latest court filing
- James said Trump valued Mar-a-Lago between $347 million to $739 million while Palm Beach County valued it between $18 million to $27.6 million
- Trial is scheduled for October and one of several Trump faces next year
Donald Trump regularly exaggerated his personal net worth – sometimes by more than $2 billion – when he was actually worth far less, court filings from New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed on Wednesday.
James’ office included the information in a motion for summary judgement that asks the court to resolve James’ case against the former president and his Trump Organization.
Last September, James filed a lawsuit alleging the Trump family and Trump Organization executives orchestrated an extensive scheme related to valuations of property and Trump’s personal financial statements.
The trial is scheduled to begin in October and is one of many court cases Trump will be fighting as he runs to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Donald Trump is accused by the New York Attorney General of exaggerating his net worth
In her Wednesday filing, James claims that Trump, in 2014, claimed to be holding $6.7 billion in assets, but she said that overstated Trump’s actual net worth that year by more than $2.2 billion.
Additionally, James said Trump valued his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate ‘as if it could be sold as a private single family residence for amounts ranging between $347 million to $739 million.’ The filing claimed those figures ignored limitations placed on how the property could be developed.
Palm Beach County assessed the property as having a market value based on its restricted use as a social club ranging between $18 million to $27.6 million.
She also alleged Trump put an extra 15-30% ‘brand premium’ to the value of many of his golf clubs and inflated the value of unsold condominium units he owned at Trump Park Avenue in New York City.
James seeks at least $250 million in damages and to stop the Trumps from running businesses in New York.
Trump’s legal team is expected to oppose the motion for summary judgment that James has requested.
The former president has dismissed the charges against him.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a suit against Trump and his Trump Organization
James said Trump valued Mar-a-Lago between $347 million to $739 million while Palm Beach County valued it between $18 million to $27.6 million
He has said James´ investigation is part of a politically motivated ‘witch hunt’ and that her office is ‘doing everything within their corrupt discretion to interfere with my business relationships, and with the political process.’
Trump’s three eldest children also were named in the suit but Ivanka Trump was later dropped from it. Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump have all sat for depositions in the case.
In all Trump has six scheduled criminal and civil trials over the next nine months.The four criminal cases include 91 felony counts.
In New York Trump also faces a trial tied to 34 felonies in connection with a ‘hush money’ payment made to porn star Storm Daniels before the 2016 election. He has entered a not guilty plea in that case, which is scheduled for trial in March 2024.
In May, Trump was found liable by a jury for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll after a federal civil trial. He is appealing.
He also faces criminal cases in Washington D.C., Florida and Georgia tied to his actions as president.
Mar-a-Lago at $730M when it should be $75M: The breakdown of properties New York AG claims Trump inflated and how he did it
After a three-year probe into the former president’s finances New York attorney general Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump in September 2022 for alleged ‘numerous acts of fraud.’
Following a review of ‘millions of documents’ with a team of investigators, she told reporters she was suing Trump for ‘violating the law as part of his efforts to generate profits for himself, his family and his company.’
James specifically named Trump and his three adult children, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump, and said they ‘persistently’ inflated the value of assets.
Here’s a breakdown of the lawsuit’s biggest accusations:
Trump claimed his Trump Tower penthouse apartment was three times its actual size – and worth a whopping $327 million
According to James, Trump claimed his penthouse in Trump Tower in Manhattan was 30,000 square feet when in reality the place was only a third of that size – 11,000 square feet. Based on the inflated square footage, Trump valued the apartment at $327 million, a price which James called ‘absurd.’
‘To this date, no other apartment in New York City has ever sold for that much,’ she said.
Trump valued Mar-a-Lago at nearly 10 times what it was worth at $739 million
Trump’s Florida golf resort was valued at $739 million ‘based on the false premise that it was unrestricted property and could be developed for residential use,’ according to James. Her office pointed out that Trump donated the residential development rights of the property and sharply restricted making any changes. She claims that the property should have been valued at $75 million and brings in about $25 million in revenue per year.
Trump valued his Park Avenue based on the units’ market value, though they were rent stabilized and worth far less at a total of $84.5 million
The Trump Organization received a valuation for Trump Park Avenue, a 32-story condo building with 120 apartments and eight penthouses, in 2020 at $84.5 million.
On a 2020 statement of Trump’s financial condition he listed the property being worth $135.8 million.
James’ team found that in 2011 and 2012, Trump ‘ignored legal restrictions’ listed 12 rent-stabilized units in the building by what they would be worth if they could be rented out at market value. Trump claimed the units were worth $50 million, over 65 times the $750,000 those units were appraised at in 2010.
Trump valued his Seven Springs estate nearly ten times what it was appraised for only a few years prior at up to $291 million
In 1995 Trump purchased his 213-acre estate in Westchester County, New York for $7.5 million. Two decades later in 2006 it was found to be worth $30 million, but Trump’s statements of financial condition from 2011 to 2021 found the property to be worth $261 million and $291 million.
In 1995 Trump purchased his 213-acre estate in Westchester County, New York for $7.5 million
Trump listed the value of 40 Wall Street at over $300 million what it was found to be worth at $530 million
The Trump building at 40 Wall Street, where Trump owns the ground lease was valued at $220 million in 2012. The Trump Organization listed the property’s value at $530 million in 2013.
Trump told Nevada tax authorities Trump International Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas was worth far less than what his financial statement showed at $108 million
Trump owns a 50 percent stake in a hotel condominium tower together with businessman Phillip Ruffin. In 2015 the Trump Organization submitted a $24,950,000 valuation to contest taxes they owed to Nevada, but the same year his statement showed the property to be worth $108 million.
Trump did not factor in escalating rent expenses for his Niketown valuation in the mid-$400 million range
Trump owns two ground leases for a space that adjoins Trump Tower that for many years he rented to Nike. In 2020 and 2021 Trump reported the value of the property was in the mid-$400 million range, while James’ office found the property to be worth $225-$250 million range, arguing that Trump had not factored in ‘escalating scheduled rent expenses.’
Trump used ‘deceptive techniques’ to list the value of his golf and social clubs
James’ office found that Trump used a number of ‘deceptive techniques’ to estimate the value of his 12 clubs. The first is a ‘fixed asset scheme,’ where she says Trump valued the clubs based on fixed assets without factoring in any depreciation. Others schemes listed involved factoring the value of memberships into the valuation while listing Trump’s liability for those memberships as zero. A ‘brand premium scheme’ entailed the Trump Organization adding a premium to inflate the value of golf courses and clubs, often up to 30% for the ‘Trump Brand,’ while claiming that brand premiums were not included.
Trump valued his Turnberry golf course on a fixed asset scheme at $127 million even though it has been operating at a loss
In 2017, Trump’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, was valued at nearly $127million. But James insists it has operated as a loss since then, and says it was ‘false and misleading’ of Trump to use a valuation of the course based on a fixed asset scheme.
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