New York attorney general sues Trump

Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. “knowingly participated” in the fraudulent schemes alleged by New York Attorney General Letitia, her complaint said, pointing to how the three Trump children “were intimately involved in the operation of the Trump Organization’s business.”

The scheme “required the participation of Mr. Trump and his children,” the lawsuit said, adding that the children were “aware of the true financial performance of the company.”

The children are mentioned in connection with several of the episodes laid out in the lawsuit in which the New York attorney general alleges Trump and his businesses made false statements about their finances.

The lawsuit, for instance, alleges that Eric Trump was involved in an approach to appraising properties in Las Vegas in a way that lowered their value for tax purposes while inflating their value on Trump financial statements.

“By using the fraudulent valuation methods and assumptions described above, the Trump Organization was able to inflate the value of Trump Vegas in each of the years from 2013 to 2016,” the complaint said. “Eric Trump, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, refused to answer questions related to his participation in the drafting of each of the 2013 through 2016 Statements.” 

The lawsuit also quotes testimony from Donald Trump Jr. as it describes how the value of Trump Park Avenue was allegedly inflated on Trump financial statements. An appraisal of the property by an outside firm in 2010 for a loan took into account how some of the units were rent-stabilized, lowering their value, according to James’ complaint. Yet, Trump financial statements put a value on the units roughly six times higher than what the appraiser had concluded, the lawsuit said.

“The Trump Organization was well aware of the rent-stabilized nature of many units at the property, as any landlord would be. Indeed, Donald Trump, Jr. testified that the rent-stabilized tenants at the building were, ‘the bane of [his] existence for quite some time,’” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit pointed to Ivanka’s involvement in securing a loan for purchasing the Doral golf course in Florida and Chicago properties in 2012 – loans that James claims were extended partly because of financial statements allegedly containing misrepresentations.

“On each of those transactions with Deutsche Bank, Ms. Trump was aware that the transactions included a personal guaranty from Mr. Trump that required him to provide annual Statements of Financial Condition and certifications,” the lawsuit says. 

Former President Donald Trump lashed out against New York attorney General Letitia James in a pair of Truth Social posts Wednesday, claiming she has caused “record numbers of people and companies to flee New York.” 

Trump accused James, who he’s spent years deriding, of filing the wide-ranging lawsuit to reverse “her really bad poll numbers.” 

“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,” he wrote. 

Alina Habba, an attorney for the former President, responded separately, earlier Wednesday. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday that her office is “in conversations” with Deutsche Bank, one of the financial institutions who lent money to the Trump Organization. 

“With respect to Deutsche Bank, we’re in conversations with Deutsche Bank,” James said. “They have been cooperating with our office.” 

The German bank was a major source of loans to Trump’s golf courses and hotels but cut off all business with the former President in Jan. 2021.

While CNN previously reported Deutsche Bank didn’t lose money on the deals, James’ lawsuit alleges the bank was among those defrauded by Trump. James subpoenaed the bank, and it complied in 2019.   

James also said that Mazars, an accounting firm that has worked with the Trump Organization, had indicated on the financial statements that they did not certify or audit the information. She added that there is an “ongoing investigation” of Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm that worked with the Trump organization. 

Cushman & Wakefield has previously said it stands by its appraisers and work.

In the lawsuit filed today against former President Donald Trump and his organization, New York Attorney General Letitia James said tax records found in the FBI’s raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence were not produced during her investigation. 

The lawsuit notes that litigation over the search warrant for Trump’s Florida residence in early August revealed that the FBI seized accounting information as well as communication regarding taxes.

Those documents have not been publicly revealed as the Justice Department’s investigation — and a special master review of the seized documents — are ongoing.  

“Documents concerning taxes and accounting information would appear to be responsive to OAG’s subpoenas, but no such documents for Mr. Trump were produced by counsel for Mr. Trump,” to the attorney general, the lawsuit alleges. 

According to the lawsuit, Trump’s counsel said they had “diligently searched each and every room of Respondent’s private residence located at Mar-a-Lago, including all desks, drawers, nightstands, dressers, closets, etc.” but did not find anything relevant to James’s subpoenas. 

The lawsuit alleges that Trump repeatedly failed to produce documents required by the New York attorney general’s subpoena over the past several years in an attempt to conceal acts of fraud.

The lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses former President Donald Trump of using allegedly doctored financial statements in his and Ivanka Trump’s personal pursuit to open a luxury hotel in Washington, DC, in the years before he ran for the presidency.

The statements were “critical to the overall success of the investment in the Old Post Office property in Washington, DC,” which became the Trump International Hotel, James’ lawsuit says.

James alleges Ivanka Trump and her father pitched to the General Services Administration his financial capability – including by sending the agency financial statements that included misrepresentations – in order to secure the lease for the hotel.

James says the father-daughter duo also gave an in-person presentation to the agency, which ultimately awarded them the lease of the federal government-owned building beginning in 2013.

While Trump was in office, the hotel, which is less than a mile from the White House, became a gathering place for his supporters and close contacts, and bookings grew because of the connection to the sitting president.

James also alleges the Trump Organization secured a $170 million loan from Deutsche Bank, partly based on false pretenses, according to James, to develop the hotel inside the historic Old Post Office building.

A banker there “at the urging of Ivanka Trump — kept close tabs on the bank’s consideration of the request,” James’ team wrote. As part of the financing, “Mr. Trump, as guarantor, would be required to provide his annual statement of financial condition to the bank,” the lawsuit says.

Trump personally guaranteed the loan. James’ lawsuit says he was supposed to verify the accuracy of his finances to the bank.

Some more context: House Democrats have sought for years to unearth details of Trump finances, with a top aim being understanding the Trump Hotel books. They were largely unsuccessful.

The Trump Organization sold the hotel in May 2022, enabling the company to repay the loan and earn a profit. The DC hotel property now operates as a Waldorf Astoria.

The lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James says Trump and his associates “padded” their numbers and “cherry-picked” data points to massively inflate the value of their assets.

Investigators claim Trump’s family and business partners tried to “exploit” the process by which assets are evaluated to falsely “pump up” the value of their holdings.

The lawsuit also says Trump’s company used “deceptive strategies” to pull off these schemes, and lied to its own accounting firm, which subsequently prepared financial statements containing bad information.

To “cover up” parts of these allegedly fraudulent schemes, Trump personally instructed some of his employees at times that they should not put their communications in writing, according to the lawsuit. 

“To cover up this scheme, Mr. Trump and his agents sought to avoid creating a documentary record,” the lawsuit said. “Mr. Trump advised his employee handling his real estate affairs in the Lower Hudson Valley, which included Seven Springs, that he did not want communications between them put in writing.”

Donald Trump’s longtime accountant testified that he was “shocked by the size of the discrepancy” regarding the valuation of Trump Park Avenue, according to the New York attorney general’s lawsuit.

The property in question – Trump Park Avenue – was appraised in 2010 to be worth approximately $72.5 million, according to the lawsuit. But Trump’s company claimed in subsequent financial statements that the property was worth roughly $292 million, according to the lawsuit. The property near Central Park includes high-end residential units, commercial spaces and storage spaces.

According to the lawsuit, longtime Trump accountant Donald Bender testified to investigators that he was “shocked by the size of the discrepancy” between the appraised value and the value that was claimed in Trump’s financial statements, specifically regarding the rent-stabilized units at the property.

Bender was involved in preparing the financial statements that are at the heart of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation. The lawsuit further claimed that Bender told investigators that he wouldn’t have issued the financial statements for this property if he knew about the 2010 appraisal.

“The result was a classic ‘two sets of books’ situation: one internal set of records reached one conclusion regarding market value, but the figure presented on Mr. Trump’s Statement was considerably higher,” James said in her lawsuit.

CNN has previously reported that Bender gave grand jury testimony in the Manhattan District Attorney’s criminal investigation into Trump and his company. CNN also has reported that Bender gave an interview to investigators from the attorney general’s office.

New York Attorney General Letitia James spelled out what she argued was a pattern of fraud by former President Donald Trump and his company, where they repeatedly ignored professional appraisals for their properties and instead used highly inflated, self-serving valuations to increase his own profits.

As an example, James highlighted what she says happened with 40 Wall Street, a property known as The Trump Building in New York City’s financial district, which is referenced dozens of times in the lawsuit.

Trump’s company got appraisals for the property in 2010 and 2012, which found that it was worth $200 million and $220 million respectively, according to the lawsuit. But Trump’s company repeatedly claimed that the property was worth a lot more in its official financial statements, according to the lawsuit.

In 2011, Trump’s company said the property was worth $524 million. He said it was worth $527 million in 2012, and $530 million in 2013, according to the lawsuit, which argued that there was not a valid basis for these inflated valuations and that Trump falsely claimed these numbers came from “professionals.”

James said at a news conference Wednesday that the financial statements that Trump and his company submitted over the years were “greatly exaggerated, grossly inflated, objectively false.”

In a news conference announcing the civil fraud lawsuit, New York Attorney General Letitia James said the former President repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked about falsely inflating his net worth during a deposition with her office in August. 

Trump previously said in a statement that he declined to answer questions “under the advice of my counsel.” On Wednesday, James provided details about what questions to which he pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

According to James, Trump’s businesses prepared statements of financial condition every year to submit to banks and other financial institutions. The statements showed the financial position of the Trump businesses, James said, and were relied upon if the Trump Organization wanted to apply for loans.

Each statement was personally certified as accurate by Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. or the former CFO Allen Weisselberg, James said.

Trump “made known” that “he wanted his net-worth reflected on those statements to increase,” James said in the press conference, “a desire Mr. Weissenberg and others carried out year after year in their fraudulent preparation of those statements.”

“When asked about these meetings under oath as part of our deposition, both men, Mr. Trump and Mr. Weisselberg, invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and they refused to answer,” James said.

James added, “When asked under oath if he, Mr. Trump, continued to review and approve the statements after becoming president of the United States in 2017, Mr. Trump again invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege and refused to answer.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit alleges misrepresentations on financial statements that “repeatedly and persistently” violated a “host of state criminal law,” including insurance fraud, the falsification of business records and false financial statements. 

The attorney general’s lawsuit cited federal law that the alleged conduct could have “plausibly” violated, including bank fraud and false statements to financial institutions, and the lawsuit said her office made a referral to federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

The lawsuit alleges fraud “committed by upper management at the Trump Organization” and approved “at the highest levels of the Trump Organization — including by Mr. Trump himself.” 

“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation grossly inflated Mr. Trump’s personal net worth as reported in the Statements by billions of dollars and conveyed false and misleading impressions to financial counterparties about how the Statements were prepared,” the lawsuit said. “Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization used these false and misleading Statements repeatedly and persistently to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, and to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums.”  

New York Attorney General Letitia James listed the relief the state is seeking in its civil fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and his organization.

Along with seeking a “minimum” of $250 million, James said her office is asking the court to “permanently bar” Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump from “serving as an officer for any business entity registered in New York state.”

James is also asking to bar Trump and his organization from entering into any commercial real estate acquisition for five years and applying for any loans from any financial institution registered in New York for five years. 

After the New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a sweeping lawsuit Wednesday against Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, the former President’s attorney the filing “solely focused on advancing the attorney general’s political agenda.” 

“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,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement to CNN.

In more than 200 pages, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself, and that the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses.

New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged that former President Donald Trump and his company made “scores of fraudulent, false, and misleading representations” over a 10-year period, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit specifically highlighted what it called “200 false and misleading valuations” of Trump’s assets. 

“The financial statements in question were issued annually; each contained a significant number of fraudulent, false, and misleading representations about a great many of the Trump Organization’s assets; and most played a role in particular transactions with financial institutions,” the lawsuit alleged. 

Trump and his family have denied wrongdoing and have repeatedly claimed that the investigation is partisan.

James is a Democrat and promised during her campaign to go after Trump and his company.  

During a news conference announcing her civil fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and his organization, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that Trump inflated the square footage of his Trump Tower triplex apartment in order to misrepresent the value at over $300 million.

“Mr. Trump represented that his apartments spanned more than 30,000 square feet, which was the basis for valuing the apartment. In reality, the apartment had an area of less than 11,000 square feet, something that Mr. Trump was well aware of,” James said.

She added: “Based on that inflated square footage, the value of the apartment in 2015, in 2016, was $327 million. To this date, no apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount.”

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization released a statement in response to New York Attorney General Letitia James filing a civil fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the business, saying it represents “represents the culmination of nearly three years of persistent, targeted, unethical political harassment” by James.

The filing “seeks to protect the interests of large, sophisticated Wall Street banks,” the statement said.

The organization claimed that no banks were harmed and none of the banks “never once” took issue with any loans in question. The loans have are either current or have been paid off, it added.

“An attorney general is supposed to be fair, impartial and unbiased — not weaponize their office to pursue a political vendetta or target their political opponents. Today’s filing by Attorney General James sets a dangerous precedent – not just in New York, but for our entire nation. The good people of New York should be disgusted,” the statement added.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said that former President Donald Trump and the Trump organization “repeatedly and persistently manipulated the value of assets to induce banks to lend money” to the organization “on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company.”

James asserted that Trump and the organization committed fraud in order “to pay lower taxes. To satisfy continuous loan agreements, and to induce insurance companies to provide insurance coverage for higher elements and at lower premiums.”

She also claimed that the Trump organization “violated several state criminal laws, records, issuing false financial statements, insurance fraud, and engaging in a conspiracy to commit each of these state law violations.” James added that she believes the conduct violated “federal criminal law, including issuing false statements to fraud.”

New York’s top law enforcement officer filed a sweeping lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is expected to announce the lawsuit spanning more than 200 pages at a news conference Wednesday – the culmination of a three-year investigation into the Trump Organization. It was filed in state court Wednesday morning.

“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization — including by Mr. Trump himself,” the lawsuit states.

Donald J. Trump and his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Allen Weisselberg, former CFO for the Trump Organization, and Jeff McConney, another longtime company executive, are also named. 

James alleges the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.

James said she believes state and criminal laws may have been violated and referred the matter to the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service.

James is seeking $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten funds and to permanently bar Trump and the children named in the lawsuit from serving as the director of a business registered in New York state. She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate, which if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state.

Trump has previously denied any wrongdoing and called James’ investigation a partisan “witch hunt.”