Trump, kids sued for fraud

New York – Donald Trump and family members lied to tax collectors, lenders and insurers for years in a scheme that routinely misstated the value of his properties to enrich themselves, according to a suit filed by New York’s attorney general on yesterday.

Top state prosecutor Letitia James said that with the help of his children and others at the Trump Organisation, the former president provided fraudulent statements of his net worth and false asset valuations to obtain and satisfy loans, get insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes.

“In short, he lied to gain massive financial benefits for himself,” said James.

The sweeping investigation is one of many criminal, civil and congressional probes into Trump, who is eyeing another run for the White House in 2024.

Trump repeated his oft-used defence that the suit is “another witch hunt” against him, while his spokesperson denounced it as a political move by Democrats against the Republican businessman.

James’ office requested that the former president pay at least $250 million (about R4.4 billion) in penalties – a sum she said he made from the fraud – and that his family be banned from running businesses in the state of New York. –