Filed
The New York state attorney general filed a sweeping lawsuit Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself.
In the more than 200-page lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleges the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.
“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization — including by Mr. Trump himself,” the lawsuit states.
Trump and his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Along with a couple of non-family hacks.
James is seeking $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten funds and to permanently bar Trump and the children named in the lawsuit from serving as the director of a business registered in New York state. She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate, which, if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state.
New York state includes Manhattan. They won’t like that. Let’s hope it happens.
In addition to the new fraud lawsuit, the Trump Organization is going on trial next month on charges it was engaged in a 15-year tax fraud scheme and its long-time chief financial officer has agreed to testify against the company.
Weisselberg, who served as chief financial officer at the Trump Organization for decades, pleaded guilty in August to his role in a 15-year-long tax fraud scheme, and as part of the deal, he had agreed to testify against Trump’s real estate company at trial.
In recent weeks, the Trump Organization had offered to settle to ward off the lawsuit even as they denied any wrongdoing, but James’ office made it clear it wasn’t interested in a deal, people familiar with the matter said.
No doubt this will do wonders for Trump’s plans to run for president again.
This would probably never have happened to him if he hadn’t run for President. Well, if he’d been just another also-ran like Jeb Bush, it probably wouldn’t have happened. But getting the nomination, then winning the presidency, brought everything he did into closer view.
Return of money and barred from running a company? White collar crime really needs to have jail time. These people are alleged to have stolen (and probably did steal) $250,000,000 dollars from private businesses and tax payers; anyone stealing that amount by any other means would be facing jail for many years for even a hundredth of that.
But I look forward to the absolute apoplexy via Trooth Soshul in response to this.
myself, I think the Chinese approach to major corporate crime is appropriate…firing squads*
* not really a supporter for State capital punishment. Although I wouldn’t join many tearful protests to save their lives.. just like i could never do the weeping protest thing to save the life of Polly Klaas’ murderous creepazoind
Holms – same – I looked but there was nothing yet.