New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, three of his adult children, and the Trump Organization alleging fraud including fabricated financial statements pertaining to the firm. In a 220-page civil case, she also claimed that Trump lied about his personal net worth in order to acquire better loans and insurance for his firm, as well as lower its taxes. Letitia James is presently seeking approximately $250 million in damages and is requesting that Trump and his three children be barred from functioning as CEOs of any corporation in New York for the rest of their lives.
She has also requested that all of Trump’s firms included in the case be barred from doing business in New York indefinitely. James even said that she had requested that the IRS and federal prosecutors in Manhattan conduct further investigations into Trump for suspected criminal offenses.
Today, I filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for engaging in years of financial fraud to enrich himself, his family, and the Trump Organization.
There aren’t two sets of laws for people in this nation: former presidents must be held to the same standards as everyday Americans.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 21, 2022
Everything you need to know about Letitia James.
Letitia James is an American lawyer, politician, and activist who now serves as New York’s 67th Attorney General. She created history by becoming the first African-American woman to hold the position. She was born on October 18, 1958, in New York to parents Nellie and Robert James, and grew up with her seven siblings. James graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in 1981 with a B.A. in liberal arts with a focus on social work from the City University of New York’s Lehman College.
The attorney graduated from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and began practicing law in New York State in 1989. In 2013, she also graduated with honors from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs with a master’s degree in public administration. Letitia James formerly worked as a public defender for the Legal Aid Society and formed the Urban Network, a group of African American professional organizations dedicated to providing young people with scholarships.
In 1999, the Brooklyn native was named the city’s first Assistant Attorney General in charge of the regional office. She also joined the Working Families Party after winning the city council election against Geoffrey A. Davis in 2003. Letitia James was elected Public Advocate for the City of New York in 2013 and became the state’s first woman of color. According to reports, her agency handled more than 32,000 complaints and enacted more legislation than all prior Public Advocates combined.
Letitia James’ case against Donald Trump.
Letitia James stated on Wednesday that she has filed a civil complaint against the Trump Organization, Donald Trump, and his three children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Ivanka, all of whom functioned as business officials. The complaint also names former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and executive Jeff McConney as defendants. The lawsuit accused Trump of exaggerating his assets by billions of dollars in order to get advantageous loans and secure himself:
“The case shows that Donald Trump fraudulently inflates his net worth by billions of dollars in order to unfairly enrich himself and scam the system, so hurting all of us.” He accomplished this with the assistance of the other accused.”
Between 2011 and 2021, Trump and his organization allegedly inflated the value of other properties, including a Lower Manhattan skyscraper, a Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment, and Mar-a-Lago, in exchange for “incredible financial benefits” such as lower tax bills, favorable loans, and lower insurance:
“In all, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants determined more than 200 inaccurate and misleading appraisals of assets contained in the 11 Statements spanning 2011 through 2021 as part of a recurrent pattern and common plan.”
Trump’s personal financial statements over the decade were also “fraudulent and deceptive in both their substance and presentation,” according to the civil suit. It further claimed that the amount of inflated asset prices is “staggering,” and that they influence “most, if not all, of the real estate holdings in any given year.”
While explaining the alleged instances of fraud, James went on to say that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago “earned less than $25 million in yearly revenue”:
“It should have been worth roughly $75 million, but it was worth $739 million.”
Trump allegedly “got a series of bank mandated evaluations” for his 40 Wall Street commercial property in New York City, which indicated a value of $200 million in August 2010 and $220 million in November 2012. She then stated:
“Yet, in his 2011 declaration, Mr. Trump listed 40 Wall Street for $524 million, which grew to $530 million over the following two years, more than double the value determined by specialists.”
The attorney continued:
“Even more aggravating, the $500 million-plus appraisal was based on information from an appraiser who evaluated the building at little more than $200 million.”
Letitia James also addressed the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, saying:
“Mr Trump indicated that his residence was larger than 30,000 square feet, which was used to value the flat.” In truth, the flat was less than 11,000 square feet, which Mr. Trump was fully aware of.”
The complaint also said that the flat’s valuation increased to $327 million in 2015 and 2016, making it the only apartment in New York City to sell for that amount. James said that “tripling the size of the apartment for appraisal reasons was a planned and purposeful scam” and “not an honest error.”
The lawsuit also claimed that the Trump Organization never hired outside specialists to manage Donald Trump’s finances. These statements allegedly included the valuation of real estate assets used to get loans and insurance:
“To the extent that Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization got any outside expert guidance on how to approach valuing the assets, they habitually rejected or contradicted such advice.”
According to CNBC, Trump is accused of “consistent and recurrent fraud; conspiracy to falsify business records; fabricating company records; conspiracy to fabricate false financial statements; issuing false financial statements; conspiracy to conduct insurance fraud, and insurance fraud.” In response to Letitia James’ charges, Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said that the filing was “centered on pushing the Attorney General’s political agenda” rather than “on the facts or the law”:
“It is quite obvious that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory powers by inquiring into transactions in which there was no illegality.”
Actions have consequences. We’re seeking to:
➡️Make Trump pay $250 million.
➡️Ban the Trumps from running NY businesses for good.
➡️Ban Trump and Trump Org from buying commercial real estate in NY for 5 yrs.
➡️We’re making a criminal referral to the U.S. Dept of Justice.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 21, 2022
The lawyer continued:
“We are convinced that our court system will not tolerate this unfettered abuse of power, and we look forward to defending our client against all of the Attorney General’s meritless charges.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump rushed to Twitter to label the inquiry a “witch hunt.” As part of her inquiry, Letitia James allegedly studied millions of documents and interviewed more than 65 witnesses. According to reports, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has also begun a criminal inquiry into the issue.
