Judge holds real estate firm in contempt in Trump probe
NEW YORK — A New York state judge Tuesday held one of the world’s largest real estate firms — which appraised several of former President Donald Trump’s properties — in contempt of court in connection with a civil investigation into whether he falsely inflated the value of his assets.
The judge, Arthur Engoron, said Cushman & Wakefield had failed to comply with subpoenas from the New York attorney general’s office in its investigation into Trump and his family business. He ordered the firm to pay a $10,000 daily fine starting today until it provided the requested documents to the attorney general, Letitia James.
Engoron, who held Trump in contempt in April, chastised the firm for failing to respond to the court’s requests before a deadline earlier this month.
“Cushman & Wakefield has only itself to blame if it chose to treat the looming deadlines cavalierly,” Engoron wrote in an order late Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the real estate firm, Michael Boonshoft, said Wednesday that the company had gone to “great expense and effort” to comply with the subpoenas and would appeal.
“The ruling to hold Cushman & Wakefield in contempt demonstrates a failure to understand the extreme lengths Cushman has gone to comply with the court’s order,” Boonshoft said.
The contempt order comes at a critical moment in James’ investigation into whether Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization, fraudulently overstated the value of his golf clubs, hotels and other real estate properties in annual financial statements.
Next week, her investigators are scheduled to question Trump and two of his children under oath, the culmination of the threeyear inquiry.
Her office could file a lawsuit against Trump and the company after the interviews, which could accuse them of fraudulently inflating the value of Trump properties to secure favorable loan terms and other financial benefits.
Cushman & Wakefield, which employs 50,000 people in more than 60 countries, was founded in New York more than a century ago and has become one of the largest real estate firms in the world. Beyond its brokerage services, the company also appraises commercial properties for clients.
The company was hired by the Trump Organization to assess three of its properties at the center of James’ investigation: the Seven Springs Estate in Westchester County, N.Y.; Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles; and 40 Wall St. in Manhattan.
James has sought information on those appraisals from Cushman & Wakefield and information about its broader relationship with Trump.
“Cushman & Wakefield’s work for Donald Trump and the Trump Organization is clearly relevant to our investigation, and we’re pleased that the court has recognized that and taken action to force Cushman to comply with our subpoenas,” James said in a statement. “No person or company, no matter how powerful, is above the law.”