Veteran prosecutor recruited for Trump investigation

As the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office steps up the criminal investigation of Donald Trump, it has reached outside its ranks to enlist a prominent former federal prosecutor to help scrutinize financial dealings at the former president’s company, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

The former prosecutor, Mark Pomerantz, has deep experience investigating and defending whitecollar and organized crime cases, bolstering the team under District Attorney Cyrus Vance that is examining Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization.

The investigation by Vance, a Democrat, is focused on possible tax and bankrelated fraud, including whether the Trump Organization misled its lenders or local tax authorities about the value of his properties to obtain loans and tax benefits, people with knowledge of the matter said, requesting anonymity. Trump has maintained he did nothing improper and has long railed against the inquiry.

In recent months, Vance’s office has broadened the longrunning investigation to include an array of financial transactions and Trump properties — including Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, various Trump hotels and the Seven Springs estate in Westchester County — as prosecutors await a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that could give them access to Trump’s tax returns.

Manhattan prosecutors also have subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to tax deductions on millions of dollars in consulting fees, some of which appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter.