The legal troubles for former President Donald Trump keep building. The attorney general for the state of New York announced on Wednesday that she had filed a massive lawsuit against Trump, three of his children, and the Trump Organization. Here are the details on this sweeping lawsuit.
Diving Deep Into the Lawsuit
The lawsuit brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James is over 200 pages long, alleging that Trump and his family and business operation engaged in extensive fraud that went on for over 10 years. The document details that the fraud encompassed all areas of Trump’s business operations, including the golf courses and real estate investments.
The lawsuit alleges that the Trump Organization knowingly deceived bank lenders, tax officials, and insurers by exaggerating the value of Trump’s investments and properties and misleading appraisers for personal financial gain. In a news conference held Wednesday afternoon in New York, James said that the conduct by the former president cannot be dismissed as a simple mistake.
The lengthy lawsuit details over 200 instances where Trump and his associates misled valuations of the former president’s assets. James said that she believes that Trump and his organization broke state and criminal laws, referring the matter to both the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York for further investigation.
James is asking for $250 million in allegedly forgotten funds from Trump and his business operation. In addition, she is asking that Trump and his three children named in the suit be barred from serving as directors of any businesses registered in New York state. Lastly, James is requesting that the state cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate. Should this happen, the company would not be able to operate in the state.
The lawsuit is a culmination of over three years of investigative work by the top law enforcement officer in the state.
Others Named in Lawsuit
In addition to going after Trump, the lawsuit also names three of his adult children as defendants in the situation. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump are all named as being in violation of the law. James said that the three children “knowingly participated” in the schemes as they were all closely involved in the business operations of the Trump Organization.
The lawsuit alleges that the adult children were aware of how the Trump Organization was performing financially yet still provided false statements. James said that the elaborate scheme needed the involvement of the children to pull off.
For example, the lawsuit details that Trump and his daughter Ivanka doctored financial statements in their efforts to open their opulent hotel in the heart of Washington, D.C. during his initial run for the presidency.
Other defendants named in the lawsuit include former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and longtime executive Jeff McConney.
Further Examples of Fraud
The long list of grievances in the lawsuit encompasses a wide array of properties. For example, the lawsuit details that Trump exaggerated the square footage of his triplex apartment in the Trump Tower in an effort to misrepresent its value. James asserted in the suit that Trump said the apartments totaled over 30,000 square feet when the area was actually less than 11,000 square feet. By inflating the square footage of the complex, the valuation also came in significantly higher. James said that this was intentional fraud rather than an honest mistake.
Trump’s Response
It did not take long for Trump to respond to the lawsuit. The former president used his social media network, Truth Social, to criticize James and her decision to file the civil fraud lawsuit. Trump called James a “fraud,” accusing her of running on a platform to go after him if elected to her position. This is not the first time that Trump has criticized the Democratic attorney general, once referring to her as a “renegade prosecutor.”
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, also responded to the lawsuit, denying any wrongdoing. Habba said that the lawsuit’s only focus is to advance the political agenda of the attorney general as it exceeds its authority by investigating these transactions.
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