The New York attorney general alleged value inflation by Trump’s business in new filings.
An apartment was valued at $25 million, documents say, but offered to Ivanka Trump for $8 million.
Donald Trump has long denied any wrongdoing, and claims the investigation is politically motivated.
An apartment leased by Ivanka Trump from the Trump Organization was given a sky-high public valuation but offered to her for far less, new legal documents allege.
The Park Avenue property was said publicly to be worth $25 million, but Ivanka retained an option to buy it for $8 million, per a slew of legal filings from the New York Attorney General.
They are part of a wider case against the Trump Organization alleging that the company may have illegally manipulated the value of its assets for its own gain.
In legal documents filed Tuesday night, staff for New York Attorney General Letitia James presented what they said was evidence of possible value inflation.
Among the properties identified in the documents is Trump Park Avenue, a luxury apartment complex in Manhattan.
According to the documents, the Trump Organization in financial statements between 2011 and 2020 said the entire property was worth between $135 million and $350 million, with unsold residential condominiums representing around 95% of the value.
But, according to James, evidence indicates that the real value of the properties was boosted as part of a scheme to secure financial gain, involving several other Trump assets.
“Evidence obtained by OAG indicates both that the reported values of the unsold residential units of the Trump Park Avenue building were significantly higher than the internal valuations used by the Trump Organization for business planning and failed to account for the fact that many units were rent stabilized,” said James in a press release.
One apartment, per the press release, was one leased by Ivanka Trump, who is also a Trump Organization executive, and was a White House advisor during his presidency.
According to the statement, Ivanka Trump was given the option to buy the apartment for $8.5 million even though it was valued at $25 million in Trump’s financial statements. This, James alleged, highlighted the discrepancy between what the company was claiming the apartment was worth and its true value.
The complex is one of several Trump properties and businesses mentioned in the documents.
Others include his Trump Tower apartment, golf club in Westchester, New Jersey, and golf club near Aberdeen, Scotland. Evidence indicates that the values of those were also inflated, according to the attorney general’s office.
In the documents, James’ office says that it “has not yet reached a final decision regarding whether this evidence merits legal action.”
Attorneys representing Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and Ivanka Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the claims.
Trump has long denied any wrongdoing, and has claimed that James, a Democrat, is motivated by political hostility towards him.
The release of the lawsuit comes after Trump sought to quash a series of subpoenas issued by the New York attorney general seeking testimony from him, his son Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka.
The investigation is being conducted alongside a parallel criminal investigation by Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg.
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