Donald Trump's family: prosecutors have "hard evidence" of fraud
Created: 01/19/2022, 09:48 am
By: Daniel Dillman
The past is catching up with Donald Trump and his children Donald Jr. and Ivanka.
They are to be forced to testify in the trial against the family company.
New York – It's getting serious for Donald Trump* and his children. New York State Attorney Letitita James petitioned the court Tuesday night for a subpoena on behalf of the former president, his eldest son Donald Trump Jr.* and his eldest daughter Ivanka Trump*. They are to testify under oath about the financial conduct of the Trump Organization. James said in a press release that prosecutors had "firm evidence" of fraud on the part of the company.
The prosecutor clarified her allegations against Donald Trump and his family via Twitter.
“We have significant evidence to suggest that for years the Trump Organization has used fraudulent and misleading valuations of its assets and properties to gain economic advantage.
These include loans, insurance policies and tax deductions.” All three Trumps have so far ignored “lawfully issued subpoenas”, although according to James subpoenas against company officials are “a routine part of complex financial investigations”.
Donald Trump and his children have consistently described the investigations into the Trump Organization as politically motivated and meaningless.
The prosecutor still has questions for Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump (m.) © Carlos Barria/rtr
Investigations against Donald Trump - only Eric talks to the prosecutor
The only Trump who has so far followed a subpoena from the New York prosecutor* is Eric Trump*, the third child with a job in the family business. He testified in August 2020. Since then, according to James, prosecutors have found further evidence of illegal business conduct by the Trump Organization. They broke laws "to obtain a variety of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions." Eric Trump has repeatedly exercised his right to refuse to testify and has therefore not provided any information about the valuations of several properties by the Trump Organization. "This game has to end," said James, who now apparently wants to force the Trump family to cooperate. “No one in this country can choose which laws apply to him or her."
This game must finally end.”
Prosecutor Letitia James on the Trump family's refusal to cooperate with investigators
According to court documents available to the Daily Beast news portal, investigations into Donald Trump and his company have been ongoing since March 2019. They were taken after Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before prosecutors.
Cohen had worked for years as Trump's so-called "fixer" and in this capacity, according to his statement, processed hush money payments to erotic actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal, among others.
The many tricks of the Trump Organization occupy the public prosecutor's office
According to the information Cohen gave prosecutors, the Trump Organization had used multiple tricks to inflate or deflate assets as needed. His apartment in Trump Tower in New York, where Donald Trump lived before his presidency with his third wife Melania Trump* and their son Barron Trump*, is estimated to be worth $327 million. The apartment was advertised as being over 2700 square feet.
A few years later, the same apartment was just 929 square meters and worth only $116 million, according to the Trump Organization.
Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, even admitted the devaluation of more than 200 million dollars in court: “More or less”, as he himself said.
Similar to his apartment, Trump's company also dealt with other properties, including his golf clubs in Westchester and Scotland and other buildings of the group.
Ivanka Trump 'central' to investigators
According to a memo, prosecutors assume that Ivanka Trump played a "central role" in the company's illegal activities, the main actors were probably Donald Trump himself and CFO Allen Weisselberg. As Daily Beast reports, both are said to have had an annual ritual. Both met in Trump Tower, reviewed the company's finances and closed gaps in the reports according to their own taste and advantage. This resulted in different values, which, as in the case of Trump's apartment, sometimes resulted in differences of 200 million dollars.
A lawsuit alleging tax fraud by the Manhattan Attorney's Office is already pending against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization.
Both the former CFO and the group itself deny all allegations.
Weisselberg has meanwhile declared its willingness to cooperate with the authorities.
Trump's group continues to refuse to cooperate.
(Daniel Dillmann)
