The attorney general of New York state filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging that Donald Trump and family members lied to lenders and insurers for years, inflating and deflating his net worth by billions for tax purposes. Letitia James, a leading state prosecutor, claimed that the former president lied about his net worth “to obtain and satisfy loans, get insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes” with the assistance of his children and others from the Trump organization.
In essence, he lied in order to benefit greatly financially from it. The investigation is just one of many congressional, criminal, and civil inquiries into Trump, who is considering a 2024 presidential run.
A representative for Trump criticized the civil lawsuit as a political retaliation by Democrats against the Republican businessman.
Yes, it is a tale of two justice systems, wherein the Democrats only pursue their political rivals and criminals are allowed to go free. On Trump’s website Truth Social, Liz Harrington published a piece.
James’ office asked that the ex-president pay fines of at least $250 million and be prohibited from owning businesses in the state.
She also demanded a five-year ban on Trump, his children Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump from purchasing real estate in the state.
False’ property values
James stated that based on the three-year investigation, her office, which lacks the authority to bring charges, was referring a criminal matter to the US Justice Department. In the lawsuit submitted to the New York State Supreme Court, it is claimed that for at least ten years, Trump’s annual financial statements “grossly inflated” the property values of all of his properties, from Mar-a-Lago in Florida to Trump Tower in Manhattan, to a “staggering” extent.
He did so to obtain favorable loans with lower interest rates and premiums, according to James, who is running for re-election.
The suit describes how Trump and his associates would claim to have cash on hand when he didn’t, wildly change property valuations, and use “objectively false numbers to calculate property values,” including at his famous Fifth Avenue triplex. “White collar financial crime is not a victimless crime,” said James. “When the well-connected violate the law in order to take in more money than they are entitled to, it reduces resources available to working people, regular people, small businesses, and all tax payers.”
The Trumps are to be removed from their own family business, according to James’ lawsuit, which also asks the court to appoint an impartial authority to oversee the Trump Organization’s financial procedures.