Trump inflated assets by $3 billion, New York Attorney-General says in fraud case
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Donald Trump exiting his private plane after arriving in Atlanta on Aug 24 to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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NEW YORK - Donald Trump and his company inflated the value of his assets by as much as US$2.2 billion (S$2.97 billion), according to a new court filing by New York’s Attorney-General.
It urged a judge to find the former United States president liable for fraud
“Undisputed” evidence of inflated values from 2011 to 2021 was so strong that the state should be granted “summary judgment” in its 2022 suit, which alleges “persistent and repeated” fraud by Trump and his Trump Organisation, New York Attorney-General Letitia James said in the state court filing in Manhattan on Wednesday.
If the judge rules that Trump is liable, the trial would still go forward starting Oct 2 on the state’s other claims, including falsifying business records and issuing false financial statements.
The trial is not related to the four criminal prosecutions that Trump faces.
His adult sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump are also defendants.
Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in 2024
His lawyers on the case did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
According to Ms James’ filing, all that she needs to win summary judgment on her fraud claim is to show that Trump’s statements of financial condition were false and misleading for a decade, and that he used the statements “repeatedly or persistently” in business transactions.
“The answer to both questions is a resounding ‘yes’ based on the mountain of undisputed evidence,” she said in the filing.
Ms James sought to bolster her request with Trump’s testimony from an April deposition in the case, when he was asked about his role in the company.
The former president testified that he became less involved starting in 2015, when he first ran for president and his “role was gone”.
“I was virtually not involved at all,” Trump said, according to a transcript attached to Ms James’ filing.
“I rarely – I’d rarely have anything to do with anything having to do with the company. I wasn’t – I really wasn’t interested, believe it or not.”
Trump agreed that, as president, he was ultimately too busy for the company bearing his name, and that running the country was his top priority, including his talks with North Korea.
“I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives,” he said.
“I think you would have nuclear holocaust, if I didn’t deal with North Korea. I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.” BLOOMBERG
