Investigation into Trump found ‘significant evidence’ suggesting fraud
Letitia James, the New York Attorney General, has been conducting a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization committed fraud in reporting the value of certain properties.
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NY AG says the investigation into Trump found ‘significant evidence’ suggesting fraud.
New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed new details Tuesday night about her civil investigation into former President Donald Trump's business, saying the investigation has uncovered evidence indicating fraud valuing of multiple assets and false representation of those values to financial institutions for economic gain.
In the court filing, James, who began her investigation in 2019, also stated that the former president "had ultimate authority over a wide swath of conduct by the Trump Organization involving misstatements to counterparties, including financial institutions and the Internal Revenue Service."
She also mentioned Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, the former president's adult children.
“Since 2017, Donald Trump, Jr. has had authority over numerous financial statements containing misleading asset valuations,” James wrote in the court filing.
James said in a statement on Tuesday that “Thus far in our investigation, we have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit," adding that “the Trumps must comply with our lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony because no one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them.”
Her office added that it "has not yet reached a final decision regarding whether this evidence merits legal action."
James is conducting a civil investigation to determine whether the Trump Organization lied to banks and tax authorities about the value of certain properties.
The filing on Tuesday comes in response to the former president's legal efforts to have a series of subpoenas issued against him, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump overturned. In return, James is requesting that an order be issued compelling all three to appear for sworn testimony.
According to the filing, there have been valuation issues in statements that have not been explained by the Trump Organization.
“In light of the pervasive and repeated nature of the misstatements and omissions, it appears that the valuations in the Statements were generally inflated as part of a pattern to suggest that Trump’s net worth was higher than it otherwise would have appeared,” James wrote.
