NY Attorney General Sues Trump Organization for Stonewalling Probe into Alleged Financial Fraud
New York attorney general Letitia James is investigating the Trump Organization for allegedly inflating the value of their assets to secure loans, according to a legal document filed on Monday.
The attorney general’s office is probing “Statements of Financial Condition” sent to lenders regarding assets and debts, the document noted. The office began its investigation after former Trump fixer Michael Cohen told Congress in 2019 that the organization had used the statements to inflate its net worth in communications with lenders.
While much of the information in the legal filing is redacted, it did reveal that James is investigating financial statements connected to at least three Trump properties, including a building on Wall Street in Manhattan, an estate in Westchester County, NY, and a Los Angeles golf course.
Eric Trump, the president’s son, was summoned by the New York A.G.’s office for an interview in July but refused to appear, citing what his lawyers said were “rights afforded to every individual under the Constitution.” The new legal filing was made in an attempt to compel Eric Trump to appear for an interview.
“The Trump Organization has done nothing wrong,” Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, said in a statement. James’s “continued harassment of the company as we approach the election (and filing of this motion on the first day of the Republican National Convention) once again confirms that this investigation is all about politics.”
The office of New York’s attorney general has sued the Trump Organization before. Following a suit filed in 2018, a federal judge ordered the organization to pay $2 million in damages for misusing funds gathered from a tax-exempt charity.
