The electoral falsehood of Donald Trump, who says that he won when he clearly lost, is not the only one he carries with him. His real estate business is also based, after receiving the inheritance from his father, on another big lie.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled this Tuesday that Trump committed fraud for decades to build the empire and name that catapulted him to the White House. The civil settlement states that he massively inflated the value of his assets to obtain favorable loans and advantageous deals on insurance contracts.
This decision precedes the trial that is scheduled for next Monday, along with his two sons, Don jr. and Eric, and other executives, and marks a victory for New York State Attorney General Letitia James. This paves the way for his request for a fine of 250 million for “the cheating” that the former president committed at the head of his company. Some years these asset manipulations amounted to 2.2 billion dollars.
Engoron issued this ruling at the request of the defense, which had requested that the case be thrown out. But the shot went off with a boomerang effect. The judge's decision reduces the issues that must be heard in the courtroom, effectively deciding that a trial is not necessary to determine that Trump and his company are responsible in this matter and that the core of the James case was valid.
This is a severe blow to the magnate and politician's lawyers, who had sought to persuade the judge to dismiss most of the claims made against the former president. The judge also orders the cancellation of Trump's business certificates as punishment, which makes it difficult or almost impossible for the company to continue its work in New York and maintain an independent supervisor to supervise the company.
In his 35 pages, the judge responds scathingly to the defense's arguments, which are the same as those of his client, who either overvalued or undervalued his assets, as it suited him, to obtain a benefit. “His arguments are based on a fantasy world, not the real world,” the magistrate writes.
He points out in one of these points that Trump exaggerated the dimensions of his apartment in the tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. He claimed that he had 9,000 square meters when in reality it did not even reach a third of that amount. “A discrepancy of such magnitude by a real estate developer, referring to the size of the place in which he has resided for so long, can only be considered fraud,” the judge remarks.
“In the words of the defendants, rent-regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments, unrestricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land, restrictions can evaporate into air,” he emphasizes.
It also imposes sanctions on Trump's five lawyers for raising arguments that were previously made and dismissed. Each one must pay $7,500, remembering that I had previously warned them that the reasoning in question bordered on frivolity. “Repeating them was indefensible,” he maintains. The fine also falls on his two children and another couple of company executives.
Attorney General James began her investigation in 2019 and filed the lawsuit a year ago for “staggering” fraud regarding the value of the former president's apartment buildings, hotels, and golf clubs, among other assets. She accused him of simple, unsophisticated tricks to multiply the value of his possessions.
Defense lawyers asked the judge to declare their victory before the trial based on "indisputable facts" with the intention of dismissing many of the claims against the former president and his company. The judge rejects it.
Trump has always denied any mismanagement, in his usual line, and has accused James, also as usual, of being a racist Democrat who persecutes him politically. She still has a chance to postpone the trial, and even tear up the case, pending the resolution of her lawsuit against Judge Engoron, scheduled for this week.
