Ex-US president Donald Trump committed fraud by inflating value of assets: NY judge

Former United States president Donald Trump committed fraud by inflating the value of his real estate and financial assets, New York judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Tuesday (Sep 26). This ruling is a setback for Trump, 77, ahead of a trial in the case due to begin on October 2, and it is a partial win for New York State Attorney General Letitia James, the news agency AFP reported.

Attorney General James had filed a civil case against Trump and his two eldest sons-Eric and Don Jr- accusing them of submitting "grossly inflated" numbers to banks and insurers to secure loans and insurance coverage.

The accusations

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James accused the trio (Trump and his sons) and other Trump Organization executives of lying to tax collectors, lenders, and insurers for years in a scheme that routinely exaggerated the value of their properties.

AFP reported that she asked for a summary judgment, however, seeking that the former president be found liable ahead of the trial and the judge sided with the attorney general.

James is seeking $250 million in penalties and the removal of Trump and his sons from management of the Trump Organization. The New York State attorney general claims that Trump and his associates submitted "grossly inflated" numbers to banks and insurers each year between 2011 and 2021 "to secure and maintain loans and insurance on more favourable terms."

They allegedly fraudulently overvalued the net worth of Trump company assets by billions of dollars, which resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits.

James also alleged that the overvaluation of Trump's assets was between $1.9 billion and $3.6 billion per year.

'This is a fantasy world'

New York judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Tuesday that Trump and his lawyers relied on bogus arguments. "In defendants' world: rent-regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land," Engoron said, adding, "This is a fantasy world, not the real world."

Among the properties overvalued -- by between $114 million to $207 million -- was the 77-year-old's apartment in Manhattan's Trump Tower, whose square footage was given as 30,000 square feet when it is 10,996 square feet.

"A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud," the judge said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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