Witnesses testify Manafort deceived banks for loans

Papers were not truthful about real estate, witnesses say

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — After three days of dramatic and even salacious testimony in the trial of Paul Manafort, prosecutors on Thursday returned to the nuts and bolts of their case against the former Trump campaign chairman as they sought to show he obtained millions of dollars in bank loans under false pretenses.

Detailed testimony about Manafort’s loans opened the eighth day of his trial as prosecutors began presenting the bulk of their bank fraud case against him after spending days largely on tax-evasion allegations.

On Thursday, a bank employee told jurors how she discovered discrepancies in the information he put on his loan application, including holes in his claims about a New York City property. Melinda James, a Citizens Bank mortgage loan assistant, testified that Manafort had told the bank that the property would be used as a second residence, but she found it listed as a rental on a real estate website.

In another instance, James said Manafort maintained that there

were no mortgages on a separate New York property when there actually were. All the while, Manafort signed paperwork indicating he understood that he could face criminal or civil penalties if he lied to the bank.

Airbnb executive Darin Evenson told jurors that one of Manafort’s New York City properties was offered as a rental through much of 2015 and 2016 — a direct contradiction of the documents the longtime political consultant submitted to obtain a $3.4 million loan. Another bank employee said the distinction matters because the bank caps loans for rentals at $1 million.

The prosecution has put forward nearly 20 witnesses — including Manafort’s longtime deputy Rick Gates — and a trove of documentary evidence as they’ve sought to prove Manafort defrauded banks and concealed millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts from the IRS.

Prosecutors have had a combative relationship with U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who has subjected them to repeated tongue-lashings over the pace of their questioning and their massive amount of trial exhibits. But on Thursday, Ellis told jurors he went overboard when he erupted on prosecutors for allowing an expert witness to remain in the courtroom during the trial.