'Art Of The Steal': Trump, Family Sued By NY AG Over Fraud Accusations

NEW YORK CITY — Former President Donald Trump, three of his children and their company waged an "astounding" decade-long pattern of fraud and deception to enrich themselves, said New York Attorney General Letitia James as she unveiled a long-anticipated lawsuit filed in Manhattan court Wednesday.

The civil lawsuit stems from a contentious probe into Trump's business practices by James, who outlined the accusations in a news conference and said she's seeking at least $250 million in fraudulently obtained benefits and to permanently bar the family from doing business in the state.

James said Trump had repeatedly and grossly inflated the value of his properties in a long-standing game of smoke and mirrors.

"Claiming money that you do not have does not amount to the 'art of the deal,'" she said. "It's the art of the steal."

The complaint accuses the Trumps of "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" of financial record between at least 2011 and 2021 that inflated the former president's net worth by billions of dollars.

James said a three-year investigation showed the defendants — Trump, his children Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka, their business's former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization itself — violated several state and federal criminal laws including falsifying business records and bank fraud.

"We are referring those criminal violations that we've uncovered to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Internal Revenue Service," she said.

The accusations are detailed in a 215-page complaint. Among other accusations, investigators contend Trump had, among other fraud, inflated the value of a Trump Tower triplex apartment on Fifth Avenue by claiming it spanned more than 30,000 square feet.

"In reality, the apartment had an area of less than 11,000 square feet, something that Mr. Trump was well aware of," James said. "Based on that inflated square footage, the value of the apartment in 2015 and 2015 was $327 million. To this date, no apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount."

Beyond a slew of accusations related to New York City properties, the complaint states Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida was valued as high as $739 million based on a false premise that it could be developed, even though he himself deeds that restricted changes to the property.

"(In) reality, the club general annual revenues of less than $25 million and should have been valued at closer to $75 million," the complaint states.

James said the probe found more than 200 examples of false and misleading asset valuations.

"The pattern of fraud and deception that was used by Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization for their own financial benefit is astounding," she said.

Trump, who had repeatedly called James' probe a "witch hunt," had yet to respond to the complaint as of 12 p.m.

His son Don Jr. tweeted an obscene response.

"The bull---- Demo witch-hunt continues!" he wrote.

Trump attorney Alina Habba responded in a statement to CNN.

“Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law – rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda," she said, according to CNN. "It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place.”

Not Assigned People of the State of v People of the State of Summons Complaint 1 by Matt Troutman on Scribd

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