Trump inflated his net worth by $2.2 BILLION in a year, New York’s Attorney General claims in latest filing in $250 million civil lawsuit
Following a three-year investigation into the former president’s finances, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump in September 2022 alleging “numerous acts of fraud.”
After reviewing “millions of documents” with a team of investigators, she told reporters she was suing Trump for “breaking the law as part of his efforts to generate profit for himself, his family and his company.”
James specifically mentioned Trump and his three adult children, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump, saying they were “persistently driving up” asset values.
Here’s a rundown of the biggest allegations from the lawsuit:
Trump claimed his penthouse apartment in Trump Tower was three times his size — and worth a whopping $327 million
According to James, Trump claimed that his penthouse in Manhattan’s Trump Tower was 30,000 square feet, when in reality the property was only a third of that size: 11,000 square feet. Based on the square footage, Trump valued the apartment at $327 million, a price James called “absurd.”
“To date, no other apartment in New York City has ever sold for that much,” she said.
Trump valued Mar-a-Lago at nearly ten times what it was worth: $739 million
Trump’s Florida golf resort was valued at $739 million “based on the false assumption that it was freehold and could be developed for residential use,” James said. Her office pointed out that Trump ceded the residential development rights to the property and sharply restricted making changes. She claims the property should have been valued at $75 million and would bring about $25 million in revenue per year.
Trump valued his Park Avenue based on the market value of the units, even though rents had stabilized and were worth much less, totaling $84.5 million.
The Trump Organization received an appraisal in 2020 for Trump Park Avenue, a 32-story condominium with 120 apartments and eight penthouses, of $84.5 million.
On a 2020 statement on Trump’s financial condition, he stated that the property was worth $135.8 million.
James’ team found that in 2011 and 2012 Trump “disregarded legal restrictions” and listed 12 rent-stabilized units in the building with their value if they could be rented out at market value. Trump claimed the units were worth $50 million, more than 65 times the $750,000 these units were valued for in 2010.
Trump valued his Seven Springs estate nearly ten times what it was valued just a few years earlier, at up to $291 million
In 1995, Trump bought his 213-acre estate in Westchester County, New York for $7.5 million. Two decades later, in 2006, it turned out to be worth $30 million, but Trump’s statements about the financial condition from 2011 to 2021 revealed the property to be worth $261 million and $291 million.
In 1995, Trump bought his 213-acre estate in Westchester County, New York for $7.5 million.
Trump listed the value of 40 Wall Street at over $300 million, which turned out to be worth $530 million
The Trump Building at 40 Wall Street, where Trump owns the leasehold, was valued at $220 million in 2012. The Trump Organization estimated the value of the property at $530 million in 2013.
Trump told Nevada tax authorities that the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas was worth much less than what his financial statement showed: $108 million
Trump owns a 50 percent stake in a hotel complex tower with businessman Phillip Ruffin. In 2015, the Trump Organization filed a $24,950,000 appraisal to contest the taxes it owed Nevada, but that same year its statement showed that the property was worth $108 million.
Trump didn’t factor in rising rent costs for his roughly $400 million Niketown valuation
Trump owns two leaseholds for a space adjacent to Trump Tower that he has leased to Nike for many years. In 2020 and 2021, Trump reported the value of the property was between $400 million, while James’ office found the property to be worth $225-$250 million, arguing that Trump had not taken into account ” escalating planned rental costs’.
Trump used “misleading techniques” to list the value of his golf and social clubs
James’ office found that Trump used a number of “misleading techniques” to estimate the value of his 12 clubs. The first is a “fixed asset settlement,” where Trump, she said, valued the clubs based on fixed assets, without taking into account any depreciation. Other schemes mentioned included the value of memberships in the valuation, while Trump’s liability for those memberships was set at zero. A “brand premium scheme” involved the Trump Organization adding a premium to increase the value of golf courses and clubs, often up to 30% for the “Trump Brand,” while claiming that brand premiums were not included.
Trump valued his Turnberry golf course under a fixed asset settlement at $127 million even though it was operating at a loss
In 2017, Trump’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, was valued at nearly $127 million. But James insists it has functioned as a loss ever since, saying it was “false and misleading” for Trump to use a pricing valuation based on a fixed asset arrangement.