The New York Attorney General’s office asked a court to compel Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump to testify under oath, saying it found ‘significant evidence’ that the Trump Organization committed fraud.
“We have uncovered significant evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent and misleading asset valuations on multiple properties to obtain economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions for years,” New York AG Letitia James said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump have all been closely involved in the transactions in question, so we won’t tolerate their attempts to evade testifying in this investigation,” James added.
James is conducting a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization committed fraud in reporting the value of certain properties to banks and tax authorities.
The NY AG’s office said in the court filing that Trump “had ultimate authority over a wide swath of conduct by the Trump Organization” that involved fraudulent misstatements to financial institutions, the IRS and other parties.
Don Jr., James said had “authority over numerous financial statements containing misleading asset valuations.”
Ivanka “was a primary contact for the Trump Organization’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank. In connection with this work, Ms. Trump caused misleading financial statements to be submitted to Deutsche Bank and the federal government,” James wrote in the lawsuit.
Eric Trump testified in August 2020 and repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying about the valuations of several Trump Organization properties.
“We will not be deterred in our efforts to continue this investigation, uncover the facts, and pursue justice, no matter how many roadblocks Mr. Trump and his family throw in our way,” James said in the statement on Tuesday. “No one is above the law.”
