New York AG accuses Trump’s firm of fraud

NEW YORK — State Attorney General Letitia James accused Donald Trump’s family business late Tuesday of repeatedly misrepresenting the value of its assets to bolster its bottom line, saying in court papers that the company had engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” practices.

The filing came in response to Trump’s recent effort to block James from questioning him, his daughter Ivanka and his son Donald Jr. under oath as part of a civil investigation of his business, the Trump Organization. It’s unclear whether her lawyers ultimately will file a lawsuit against them.

Still, the filing marked the first time that the attorney general’s office leveled such specific accusations against the former president’s company. Her broadside ratchets up the pressure on Trump as he seeks to shut down her investigation, which he has called a partisan witch hunt by the Democrat.

James’ filing argued that the company misstated the value of the properties to lenders, insurers and the Internal Revenue Service. Many of the statements, the filing argued, were “generally inflated as part of a pattern to suggest that Trump’s net worth was higher than it otherwise would have appeared.”

James highlighted details of how she said the company inflated the valuations: $150,000 initiation fees into Trump’s golf club in Westchester, N.Y., that it never collected; mansions that hadn’t been built on one of his private estates; and 20,000 square feet in his Trump Tower triplex that didn’t exist — a difference in value of about $200 million, James’ office said.

“We have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit,” James said in a statement.

A Trump Organization spokeswoman called the allegations baseless. A lawyer for Trump didn’t respond to a request for comment.