Fraudulently inflated

Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth by billions of dollars, New York AG says

The estimates came in newly unsealed court filings ahead of an October trial in which Trump and his business empire are accused of fraud.

By ERICA ORDEN

Donald Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion per year, New York officials said in court filings unsealed Wednesday ahead of his upcoming civil fraud trial.

The new estimates came in filings from the New York state attorney general’s office, which is suing Trump, some of his adult children and his business empire for falsifying his net worth in an effort to obtain favorable terms from banks and insurance companies. The trial is set to begin Oct. 2.

As part of its motion for partial summary judgment in the case, the attorney general’s office provided an estimated range of how much Trump had fraudulently inflated his net worth, saying he falsely boosted it by between $812 million to $2.2 billion (or 17-39%) in each year from 2011 to 2021.

A lawyer for Trump didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit accuses Trump and his children Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump of creating more than 200 misleading evaluations of the company’s finances, as well as other forms of misrepresentation. For example, the lawsuit alleges Trump falsely inflated the square footage of his apartment from 11,000 to 30,000, resulting in him declaring the apartment to be worth $327 million. That estimate would make the apartment worth significantly more than any apartment ever sold in New York City, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Tish James last year, seeks $250 million in damages and a lifetime bar on the Trumps from serving as officers or directors in any New York companies.

Trump and his lawyers have contended that James is politically motivated, pointing to her vows during her 2018 campaign to pursue legal action against Trump.

The October trial over James’ lawsuit will be the first in a string of civil and criminal trials Trump is set to face in coming months, including two federal criminal trials, two state criminal trials and a handful of civil trials stemming from lawsuits.