Donald Trump has suffered a major defeat in one of his many legal battles. A New York judge has now concluded that the former president overstated the value of his assets for years in order to get more favorable loan conditions from banks. In his reasoning, the judge found harsh words, describing Trump’s behavior and his defense as a “fantasy world”. He also ordered the cancellation of Trump’s New York business licenses, which could significantly complicate the former president’s entrepreneurial activities.
Judge Arthur Engoron’s decision revolves around a civil lawsuit filed last year by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, his children Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and some of his companies and employees. A trial in this legal dispute is scheduled for Monday next week.
Judge supports plaintiffs
In advance, the judge had to decide on applications from both parties and largely sided with the plaintiffs. He rejected a defense motion to dismiss the lawsuit and supported allegations of fraud by the attorney general’s office. This means that the scope of the upcoming trial will now be significantly reduced, including the question of a possible fine.
Letitia James is seeking $250 million, saying this is the amount by which the defendants enriched themselves through the fraudulent practices. She also called for a permanent ban on Trump and his children from ever serving in corporate leadership or boards again. Trump is still trying to at least delay the trial and has appealed to an appeals court to do so.
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The lawsuit states that Trump, with the help of his children and employees, overvalued his assets by billions. Between 2011 and 2021, he “knowingly and intentionally” submitted more than 200 false and misleading reviews. Trump’s private club at Mar-a-Lago is cited as an example. At one point it was valued at almost $740 million, but was only worth a tenth of that amount.
Own apartment stated as being much too big
The assessment of Trump’s three-story apartment in New York’s Trump Tower has been called “absurd.” It was valued at $327 million in 2015, at which time there was only one apartment in the entire city that had ever been sold for a three-digit million sum. In addition, the area of the apartment was estimated at almost 2,800 square meters, although it was only a little over 1,000 square meters in size.
Trump has denied the allegations and described the lawsuit as politically motivated. His daughter Ivanka was removed from the group of defendants a few months ago by order of a judge.
Judge Engoron wrote that Trump’s defense in the case under an affidavit was “completely without basis in the law or the facts.” Among other things, the former president claimed that if property values had increased over time, then they were not inflated at the time of a previous valuation. Trump also seemed to imply that the numbers couldn’t be too high because he could always find “a buyer from Saudi Arabia” who would pay whatever price was suggested.
A court drawing shows Judge Arthur Engoron talking to Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise. : Image: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
Engoron was also irritated that Trump’s lawyers had repeatedly made arguments that he had rejected. It was like in the film “Groundhog Day”. The judge imposed fines of $7,500 each on several of the attorneys.
2023-09-27 03:58:00
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