Trump lied about value of business empire — and size of his penthouse, NY attorney general says

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump and his children have lied about seemingly everything in the Trump Organization empire — from the size of the patriarch’s luxury Manhattan penthouse to the value of properties around the globe — in order to score an array of financial benefits, New York Attorney General Letitia James charged in bombshell court papers.

The lies to banks, government agencies and other regulators were “part of a pattern to suggest that Mr. Trump’s net worth was higher than it otherwise would have appeared,” attorneys with James’s office wrote in the Manhattan Supreme Court petition filed late Tuesday.

The misleading missives helped Trump fraudulently obtain loans, tax deductions, insurance coverage and other economic perks, James charged.

One of the most egregious alleged examples of the family’s “misstated objective facts” could be found at the top of the former president’s Midtown Manhattan skyscraper.

Trump has since 2012 claimed in tax and banks records that his triplex penthouse in Trump Tower was 30,000 square feet, according to James.

The penthouse is actually 10,966 feet. The inflated size allowed Trump to overstate the value of the apartment “by a factor of three,” the petition claims. Trump valued the apartment at $327 million in 2015, which overstates its worth by about $200 million, the AG says.

The damning details were laid out in a 115-page petition asking a judge to order the former president and two of his adult children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to comply with the attorney general's subpoenas for testimony and documents.

“For more than two years, the Trump Organization has used delay tactics and litigation in an attempt to thwart a legitimate investigation into its financial dealings,” said James.

“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. We will not be deterred in our efforts to continue this investigation and ensure that no one is above the law.”

Trump’s real estate company — which is separately under criminal indictment as part of a Manhattan district attorney investigation that overlaps with James’ civil probe — has handed over more than 930,000 documents to the attorney general’s office, according to her filing. About a dozen Trump Organization executives have testified in the inquiry.

Among those executives is Eric Trump, the Republican ex-president’s second-oldest son, who invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 500 times during six hours of questioning, according to James’ petition.

But the elder Trump and his two other adult kids have rejected James’ demands.

Trump Jr., who co-ran the Trump Organization with his brother while their father was in the White House, blasted James as “America’s most corrupt AG” in response to her withering court filing.

“This is nothing more than political retribution from her on behalf of the entire Dem Party. She should be disbarred!” he tweeted Wednesday.

The attorney general's new petition asks a judge to force testimony from Trump, Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, detailing how deeply involved they were in the Trump Organization’s alleged lies.

James wrote they were “all personally involved” in serial misstatements about the value of Trump properties.

Trump Jr., she said, has had “authority over numerous financial statements containing misleading asset valuations” since 2017, while Ivanka Trump “caused misleading financial statements to be submitted to Deutsche Bank and the federal government.”

The elder Trump had “ultimate authority” over the company, James said.

James’ investigators said Trump and his family have made misleading claims in official documents about at least six properties, as well as the value of the “Trump brand” itself.

The Trump family allegedly misstated the value of Trump’s golf clubs in Scotland and Los Angeles, as well as his Seven Spring Estate in Westchester County. In 2014, the Trump Organization valued seven mansions on the Seven Springs Estate at $161 million — though they did not yet exist, according to the petition.

Trump received tax deductions worth millions of dollars as a result of the nonexistent properties, according to James.

Trump’s listed his 40 Wall Street tower as worth $735 million in a refinancing application for a loan. In reality, it was only worth $257 million, according to James.

In yet another example, the company claimed in 2011 records that apartments in a Trump-owned Park Avenue building were worth nearly $300 million, even though a company appraiser put the figure “roughly six times” lower, James charged.

James opened her investigation nearly three years ago in response to testimony before Congress by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, about the ex-president’s business practices.

“We are seeing individuals who have continuously escaped responsibility for their actions finally being held accountable,” Cohen told the Daily News on Wednesday. “The house of Trump is crumbling.”

James has not yet filed a civil lawsuit against Trump. She revealed new aspects of her investigation in an effort to force the Trump family’s cooperation.

Her team is working in tandem with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office charged the Trump Organization and former Trump chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with a laundry list of financial crimes last year relating to perks for company executives. Bragg’s investigation is ongoing, and his office has not ruled out additional charges.

Trump, Ivanka Trump and Trump Jr. have argued they shouldn’t be forced to comply with James’ demands because she might improperly use the material in the criminal case.

Despite the detailed allegations, the Trump Organization said in a statement that James’ filing was a sign she “has no case.”

“The only one misleading the public is Letitia James,” the statement read. “She defrauded New Yorkers by basing her entire candidacy on a promise to get Trump at all costs.”

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