New York attorney general files civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, some of his children

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Politics

CNN — The New York state attorney general filed a sweeping lawsuit Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself. In the more than 200-page lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleges the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses.

According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals. “These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization – including by Mr. Trump himself,” the lawsuit states. Trump and his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Allen Weisselberg, former CFO for the Trump Organization, and Jeff McConney, another longtime company executive, are also named.

James said she believes state and criminal laws may have been violated and referred the matter to the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service. James is seeking $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten funds and to permanently bar Trump and the children named in the lawsuit from serving as the director of a business registered in New York state. She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate, which, if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state.

Trump previously called James a “renegade prosecutor” who he said is running a “vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition.” The Trump Organization called her previously allegations “baseless” and denied any wrongdoing. The civil lawsuit comes as Trump is under increasing legal pressure as prosecutors are taking investigative steps that move ever closer to his inner circle. Trump is facing numerous criminal investigations from federal and state prosecutors involving the accuracy of his company’s financial statements, interference in the 2020 presidential election, and his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/politics/trump-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit/index.html

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Full headline: New York attorney general files civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, some of his children and his business

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BREAKING: NY AG Letitia James just filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey Mcconney, The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, The Trump Organization, Inc., and other businesses associated with Trump.
11:32 AM · Sep 21, 2022

Article updated. Original article -

CNN — New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil fraud lawsuit Wednesday against former President Donald Trump, according to court records.

The case docket indicates the defendants are Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey Mcconney, The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, The Trump Organization, Inc., and other businesses associated with Trump.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

WaPo article -

Donald Trump, 3 of his children sued for business fraud by New York AG

Lawsuit alleges $250 million fraud, seeks to bar the Trumps from serving as executives of any company operating in New York

By Shayna Jacobs and Jonathan O'Connell

September 21, 2022 at 11:20 a.m. EDT

NEW YORK -- New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing former president Donald Trump, three of his grown children and executives at his company of flagrantly manipulating property valuations to deceive lenders, insurance brokers and tax authorities into giving them better rates on bank loans and insurance policies and to reduce their tax liability.

The suit asks the New York Supreme Court to bar Trump, as well as Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, from serving as executives at any company in New York, and to bar the Trump Organization from acquiring any commercial real estate or receiving loans from any New York-registered financial institution for five years. It seeks to recover more than $250 million in what James's office says are ill-gotten gains received through the alleged deceptive practices.

While the lawsuit itself is not a criminal prosecution, James (D) said she has referred possible violations of federal law to the Justice Department and the IRS. The broad-ranging lawsuit is the result of a more than two-year investigation by James and names 23 properties in the Trump Organization portfolio, including his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, his Seven Springs estate in Westchester County, N.Y., and the D.C. hotel he leased from the federal government until he sold it in May.

It adds to a deepening list of legal challenges that Trump faces more than 18 months after he left the White House and at a time when he remains actively involved in Republican politics and has broadly suggested he will run for president again in 2024. In addition to naming Trump and three of his children personally, the suit names the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, Trump's longtime chief financial officer who recently pleaded guilty to tax crimes, and controller Jeffrey McConney.

(snip)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/21/trump-sued-new-york-letitia-james/

[intrepidity]

1. $250M is chump change for him

and he'll get his MAGA chumps to foot the bill.

[NYC Liberal]

4. I don't think so. He's nowhere near as rich as he claims and he is loaded with debt.

[intrepidity]

10. He could easily raise that from his griftees

They never learn

[wnylib]

59. Yes, he could raise the money.

But AG James might force the closure of the Trump Organization.

Her work on this case also lays the groundwork for federal criminal charges of tax fraud, if the feds follow up on it.

[jmbar2]

26. It screws up his ability to refinance his holdings

He makes money by continually refinancing his properties. That game is over now.

He will need a lot of new suckers to stay afloat, hence the new QAnon embrace.

[KS Toronado]

44. You might be on to something with his QAnon embrace.

Anything to get more free money.

[Greybnk48]

36. He's like you to think that, but no it's not. He's pissed away almost all of his inheritance

that he had to steal hers (her father's share), and he's run every business he's owned into the ground. The most successful money making he's done is political begging.

Read Mary Trump's book.

[obamanut2012]

53. Nope, he makes money by continously refinancing his holdings

It's like a Ponzi scheme. He won't be able to do that with this. That is huge. His money is a house of cards.

[forgotmylogin]

57. Shutting him down in NY would be YUGE tho. n/t

[nattyice]

2. Ha ha! That makes my morning!

[lastlib]

37. A bad day suddenly got a LOT better!

(for me)
Staring at an unexpected $500 repair job on my car, plus having it tied up in the shop for 4-5 days--but this brightened it up for me.

Shut. Him. Down!

[calimary]

65. A REALLY glorious way to wake up, this morning!

With THIS as Breaking News!

[milestogo]

3. The Trump Crime Family

May they all go to prison.

[MichMan]

6. It's a civil suit

[claudette]

16. But info was sent

to IRS

[Samrob]

27. Civil suit with lots of criminal referrals. DOJ will be busy so will some state AGs.

The fact that James is blowing a hole in Trump's net worth and his claim to be very, very rich but is a fake billionaire hurts him more than anything.

[Backseat Driver]

41. Ummm...yeah, those state AGs in Texas, Florida, Arizona, et al?

Every other red state - will they protect the Orange Savior with a coalition of funding for whatever he and his nut-crazed attorneys, accountants, and griftees would also provide as sanctuary from AG James civil case's investigated examples of evidence (wrongdoing) and criminal referrals to national agencies - I'd suppose that kind of busyness might also encourage AG Garland's action to get him behind federal bars? Those federal TFG-appointed judges wouldn't want to stall out their actions when he files an oppositional suit right back at NYS. Would TPTB there dare to just toss her claims?

[Ohio Joe]

5. K & R - nt

[MLAA]

7. What are the odds the grift family will each have their own lawyers and turn on one another?

[NH Ethylene]

67. That would be fun. :)

[MLAA]

69. Must see teevee!

[vlyons]

71. Yeah which one will be the first to turn into a rat

My bet is on Ivanka to flip first. Jarred will twist her arm to make her flip to save his own $$$$

[GreenWave]

8. Summer is truly going out like a lion!

[catbyte]

9. Sorry, but meh. This is the 5,398,245th civil suit and he's ducked every one of them

The only thing that will stop him will be CRIMINAL charges. Then I'll pay attention.

[spooky3]

12. That's my feeling, too. AG James is now describing criminal law

violations; these are being referred.

[FBaggins]

61. Why referred?

Are they violations of federal law but not state law?

IOW - She appears to be describing crimes... yet isn't prosecuting them?

[hamsterjill]

31. Yeah, wake me when we get to a trial.

I must’ve been sadly ill informed because I thought THIS was what she’s been working on all this time. File anything and everything NOW!!!

[Beachnutt]

11. Isn't fraud illegal ?

So when do the indictments begin ?

[Fiendish Thingy]

22. NY state statute of limitations for fraud in this investigation has already expired

Before James took office and ramped up her civil investigation.

[RainCaster]

13. Will the GOP pay his lawyer bills for this one?

And will he claim that as income on his personal taxes?

[rurallib]

14. No Kushner? that's disappointing

[Backseat Driver]

42. You wouldn't think he'd be a great candidate for a $2B good faith Saudi loan...hmmm...

[Novara]

15. This is a civil case but she is referring criminal charges to ...

... the DOJ and to the state of NY.

This is SWEET.

[MichMan]

21. Why does she need to refer criminal charges to NY state?

Can't she file them herself?

[Novara]

35. She referred the case to the Southern District of NY

Each district handles their own cases. The SDNY has jurisdiction where the crimes were committed.

[Fiendish Thingy]

23. James IS the state of NY- she is referring to DOJ and IRS. Nt

[MichMan]

25. The post I replied to stated she was referring criminal charges to NY state

That made me ask why?

[Fiendish Thingy]

29. You replied to the OP, which stated James is referring to DOJ and IRS

SDNY is a branch of the DOJ, not the state of New York.

[MissMillie]

17. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

The law must govern the land.

[FakeNoose]

18. Thank you Letitia James and State of New York!

Chump knows he's a fraud, and so does his family, his business, and most of his long-time employees.
Don't stop now, there's so many more crimes that he's guilty of.

[llmart]

19. +1

Time to pull out the phone book and search the yellow pages for a lawyer.

He's going to be throwing ketchup all day!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

20. This will be fun to watch

Link to tweet

[Unwind Your Mind]

74. That's worth watching

Lots of details

[Blue Owl]

24. Dump just dropped his kids off at the pool

[TeamProg]

30. Sweet! Let's hope for ADDED CHARGES and $$$$ fines.

What a happy, honest and loving looking family!






[link:?c=16x9&q=h_720,w_1280,c_fill|

[hlthe2b]

32. Lot of good Tiffany and her law school training is doing for them... LOL

Not sure if she's passed the bar or what kind of law she intends to practice, but...

[bluedigger]

52. She's not a named defendant, so she got something out of it.

She may be the last Trump left standing.

[PSPS]

33. "referred the matter to the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York and the IRS"

Isn't the SDNY compromised? Bragg mysteriously stopped investigations into trump earlier this year. We know the IRS is dirty because Rettig, a trumper, is still its commissioner.

[heckles65]

34. So the Trump organization has engaged massive fraud

So who is surprised? Okay, nobody with the brains of a coconut, but seriously, who else?

[SheltieLover]

38. I love that he is being taken down by a woman! A woman of color!!!

She should get a medal of some sort!

[electric_blue68]

50. I'd say that's Extra Special Karma! 👍👍🏽👍🏿♀️

[slumcamper]

39. LETITIA 2024

[DinahMoeHum]

40. She's going for the trifecta. . .

. . .having already put the scalps of the Trump Foundation and Trump University on her mantelpiece.

[Botany]

56. The trifecta? Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

1/4 of a billion in penalty (plus interest)
shutting down all of the Trump's NY businesses
The Trump Organization can't buy any real estate in NY State
The IRS now has the proof of the frauds
Referrals to the US DoJ (SDNY)

[central scrutinizer]

43. Thanks, CNN

You made sure to mention that the AG is a Democrat, thus implying that politics, rather than evidence, is at play here.

[yonder]

47. That did stick out like a billboard.

[Snackshack]

49. Yep- caught that as well...

It’s not just cnn. All of the so called news does this now and all it does is just add more hate and weaken our justice system by making it look political when it is not.

[efhmc]

60. Just out of curiosity, have any repugs AG in other states charged him?

If not, why not?

[turbinetree]

45. Next up the traitor sitting in his ill gotten gained home in Florida trying to further his

ponzi scheme to pay his property taxes in Florida ....there, but now since NY has filed civil charges......he has no money to pay said property taxes in Florida.......if he paid any at all.......yikes......

[Rhiannon12866]

46. K&R! She promised to take action - so she got my vote!

[Snackshack]

48. Oh look...

Another lawsuit… get in line NY.

Amazing… DT killed over a million Americans with incompetence or more than likely criminal negligence which calling a deadly virus a hoax while 1000s of Americans die everyday certainly as president saying this would be criminally negligent at the least. Then he tries to overthrow the government but that doesn’t work out so DT slithered out of the WH on Jan 20, leaving before President Biden even arrived with 100’s of top secret documents…

…and for whatever reason America has not arrested him…lawsuits seem to be the best we can do.

[efhmc]

66. Not to me and to democracy but hitting him in his pocketbook, is a very good way to hurt TFG.

BTW, did Mary Trump ever collect anything from her deadbeat/criminal uncle, TFG?

[bucolic_frolic]

51. )#rnvq)run#)rn#)r#*yr*)(q)q!!!#n)cq)q*) I CLASSIFIED THOSE FINANCIAL PAPERS! /nt

[Midnight Writer]

54. CNN: "misleading appraisals" WaPo: "flagrantly manipulating property valuations"

CNN makes it sound like a difference in interpretations. "Misleading" sounds like a little white lie.

WaPo comes closer to the truth.

[BumRushDaShow]

79. In a surprise - NYT

Headline -

N.Y. Attorney General Accuses Trump of ‘Staggering’ Fraud in Lawsuit

and in the early in the article -

lying to lenders and insurers by fraudulently overvaluing his assets by billions of dollars.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/nyregion/trump-fraud-lawsuit-ny.html

No paywall link

[Midnight Writer]

80. Good deal. I'm surprised as well. I figured they would tip-toe around it like everyone else.

[LudwigPastorius]

55. Eric?, Donald, Jr.?, Ivanka?

“Never heard of them.

I think they may have brought me coffee once.”

[efhmc]

58. What are the consequnces of not paying the $250M? Someone asked about TFG's ability to collect rent

on his properties. This was not answered directly or at least I did not understand it if it was. I know he will use all the delaying tactics he possibly can but in the meanwhile will TFG still be able to make money while court cases are pending?

[LaMouffette]

63. The word is escaping me right now, but maybe like a deadbeat dad, New York can

seize any profits he makes. Maybe even seize his properties. THAT would be sweet!

[efhmc]

64. Garnishment? Can NY do that while TFG is litigating this judgement?

[LaMouffette]

72. That's the word. Thank you! And good point. They probably can't garnish his profits as long as TFG

litigates, which you know he'll do until the bitter end.

[Cha]

62. TY & AG James!

[brooklynite]

68. Important: TRUMP CANNOT get RNC or supporters to pay

His PAC can collect contributions for his legal expenses per FEC rules. A fine would be a corporate or personal expense and he cannot receive money directly from supporters without incurring gift tax.

[BigmanPigman]

70. "I don't pay taxes because I'm smart"

I hope Hillary is laughing.

[Shermann]

73. How does this grift work anyway?

I'd think overstating the value of his properties would only serve to raise his property tax bills.

[Scrivener7]

75. Let us not forget: these are the same transactions that Pomerantz said made a good case,

a good case that Bragg squashed on one of his first days in office.

Letitia is the one with the guts. The documents clearly illustrate his grift. But she was the only one with the guts to bring the case.

Hopefully others will follow her lead and a criminal case will follow.

And Bragg should be run out of town.

[BumRushDaShow]

76. Well Vance had it before Bragg

and sat on it too...

In fact this crap goes back decades, with successive Manhattan DAs and AGs all taking passes.

[Scrivener7]

77. Yep. Roy Cohn always insisted that he didn't care what the law was, he

only cared who the judge was. Because a judge can be bought or threatened. And so can many other people. Cohn's protege learned that lesson well.

tfg was wielding compromat LONG before he met Vlad. It's the source of all his power. You don't have to be smart to do it that way. You just have to be a psychopath.

[onetexan]

78. Question is will Melania now start divorce papers

Link to tweet

My money's on Melanoma having drafted the papers long ago