Donald Trump is Being Hit by a Hefty Lawsuit for Fraud

The former US president and his children are being hit by a fraud lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general after a three-year investigation. The allegation is that the Trumps have been falsely inflating their net worth by billions of dollars over the last decade. 

The lawsuit implicates Donald Trump, three of his children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric, along with Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney, both of whom have held executive posts at the Trump organization.

The office of the attorney general has presented a 222-page lawsuit against Trump alleging that they have systematically and persistently broken the law to project a higher value of properties and assets such as hotels, and golf courses to induce the banks to offer loans at better terms than would have otherwise been available to them. It also meant that they had to pay fewer taxes, and got better terms from insurance companies for smaller premiums.

New York attorney general Letitia James says, “white collar financial crime is not a victimless crime”, what the Trumps have done takes money away from the working man. When people as well connected as the Trumps start to bend the laws to gain more money than they are entitled to, it reduces the resources available to the less fortunate. 

Highlights from the Lawsuit

Trump and his family have falsified more than 200 financial statements over ten years.

They inflated the potential value of development on some estates where they forfeited development on account of conservation and gained higher tax benefits.

The entire scheme illegally enriched the Trump Organization by at least $250 million.

Attorney general James is asking the court to ban the Trump organization from any real estate transaction in New York for at least five years. She also wants the Trump family to be barred from holding an office in any business in New York. 

Donald Trump, in his usual manner, has dismissed the lawsuit as “another witch hunt by a racist attorney general”. He’s also accusing Ms James of exacting a political vendetta against his family.