Donald Trump Has Overstated His Fortune by as Much as $2.2B, Says New York Attorney General in Court Filing
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The former president is being sued by the state of New York for $250 million
The New York State Attorney General’s Office is accusing Donald Trump of fraudulently inflating his fortune by as much as $2.2 billion since 2011.
The revelation comes amid a civil lawsuit brought last year against the former president, some of his older children and the Trump Organization.
In a court filing Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge to grant summary judgment on one of a number of claims in her lawsuit — that Trump and his company deceived lenders and insurers by making false claims about his wealth and assets, the AP reported.
The lawsuit, which aims to have Trump banned from doing business in New York and pay $250 million, accuses Trump of inflating his net worth to receive favorable loan agreements, per NBC News.
Related: Donald Trump's Family 'Isn't Worried' About Him Going to Jail, Source Says (Exclusive)
The court filing says that “correcting for these and other blatant and obvious deceptive practices engaged in by Defendants reduces Mr. Trump’s net worth by between 17-39% in each year, or between $812 million to $2.2 billion, depending on the year."
The filing accused Trump of valuing several of his properties “at amounts that significantly exceeded professional appraisals of which his employees were aware and chose to ignore.” In one alleged instance, he valued his leased property on Wall Street at more than twice the amount of the appraised value.
The attorney general's office also said that Trump valued Mar-a-Lago between $347 million and $739 million during the period from 2011 to 2021, if it was sold as a single-family residence. However, during that same period, Palm Beach County assessed the property as worth between $18 million and $27.6 million, as it was restricted to being used as a social club.
In the summary judgment filing, James is arguing that a trial is not necessary to find that Trump and his defendants overstated the worth of their assets through financial statements, per The New York Times.
According to a transcript of a deposition Trump gave to James back in April, which was later released by his attorneys, the former president said “you don’t have a case and you should drop this case,” per the AP.
His legal team is reportedly expected to challenge the motion for summary judgment, per ABC News.
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PEOPLE reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment on the summary judgment filing.
In addition to the lawsuit in New York state, Trump is preparing for four criminal trials after being indicted over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, his handling of classified documents, and alleged hush-money paid to two women, one of whom is believed to be former adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
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