Donald Trump Jr. has arrived in New York to testify in his father’s $250 million fraud trial, which could topple the family’s business empire in the city.
The former president’s eldest son will be the first family member to take the stand in the case accusing the Trump Organization of inflating their wealth and assets for decades.
According to the lawsuit, Don Jr. and Eric were involved in preparing fraudulent financial statements, allegations they both deny.
The lawsuit alleges that Don Jr. was the person who certified the financial statements after his father became president in 2017, after which he and Eric took control of the Trump Organization.
Donald Trump Jr. has arrived in New York to testify in his father’s $250 million fraud trial, which could topple the family’s business empire in the city
The former president’s eldest son waved as he approached the New York State Supreme Court, flanked by officers
Trump did not appear in court on Wednesday, but targeted Judge Arthur Engoron in an online post that said: “Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!’
Don Jr.’s performance marks the start of a blockbuster week in the trial, in which the judge has already ruled that Trump and his real estate company committed fraud.
Eric Trump, who heads the Trump Organization, will follow Don Jr. witnesses, followed on Monday by Trump himself.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka will testify on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that Trump and his family falsely inflated and deflated the value of their assets to get lower taxes and better insurance coverage.
The trial is set to determine punishment, and New York State’s attorney general is seeking a $250 million fine and sanctions to effectively bankrupt Trump in the state.
Before Don Jr.’s arrival the court heard from David Orowitz, a former Trump Organization vice president who oversaw the deal for the Old Post Office in Washington.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba arrives in court on Wednesday for testimony. The former president stayed away from the proceedings
The court heard that Trump saved $168 million in interest on four properties over the past nine years by making false financial statements to lenders.
Michiel McCarty, an investment banker who was the plaintiff’s banking expert, showed the court his analysis of four Trump properties: Doral, the Old Post Office, 40 Wall St in New York and a Trump hotel in Chicago.
They showed that Trump made millions of dollars each year from significantly lower interest rates awarded on the basis that the bank relied on false financial information for the Trump Organization, the court heard.
Between 2014 and this year, Trump saved $72 million in interest on the $125 million loan for Doral and $53 million on the $170 million loan for the Old Post Office.
He also reportedly saved $17 million on the $45 million loan for his Chicago hotel and $24 million on the $160 million loan for 40 Wall St in New York.
The analysis found that the interest rates Trump paid were much lower than he should have been.
In 2015, Trump paid 1.9 percent interest on the Doral loan, but he should have paid 10 percent, a graph of the loans showed.
That amounted to a savings of $10 million that year on that property alone, according to the chart.
Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle beamed as she dressed as Snow White at the event, seemingly relaxing as her partner will testify in New York on Wednesday
McCarty called Doral a “turnaround project” that would have required significant investment to turn it into the golf resort Trump had planned.
He is a former senior vice president of acquisitions and development at the Trump Organization, who oversaw the development of the Trump hotel, the Old Post Office hotel in Washington, and quit a day after its opening in 2016.
Orowitz had worked for Trump for eight years, but the acrimony of the opening — which resulted in the collapse of two restaurant deals and protests on the ground — seemed too much.
After Don Jr, Eric Trump is expected to testify about allegations that he provided false appraisals for the Trump Organization’s Westchester estate.
Ivanka was once a party to the lawsuit, but an appeals court dismissed her from the case because the state’s statute of limitations barred the claims against her.
Judge Engoron has ruled that Trump must sell some of his most famous buildings, including 40 Wall St, but an appeals court has put that on hold until after the trial is complete.