Donald Trump says claims he lied about his wealth for years are ‘ridiculous and untrue’ | US News

Donald Trump lashed out at a New York judge for ruling that he lied about his wealth for years and said it was a ‘sad day’ for the justice system.

In a major defeat for the former U.S. president, the decision by Justice Arthur Engoron will make it easier for state Attorney General Letitia James to establish damages at a later October trial.

Prosecutors claim he charged inflated property valuations with lenders and diminished them with tax authorities.

Engoron also ordered the cancellation of certificates that let some of Trump’s businesses, including the Trump Organization, operate in New York, and ordered the appointment of a receiver to manage the businesses’ dissolution.

The judge described how Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization, and other defendants made up valuations and inflated Trump’s net worth to suit their business needs.

Trump took to Truth Social to say it was ‘a very sad day for the New York State System of Justice’.

He said: ‘Today’s Ruling about a Company that has done a magnificent job for New York State fails to acknowledge the fact that Murder and all other forms of Violent Crime have reached record levels in New York State.

‘Can you imagine ruling against me for having done business perfectly, and yet letting people go on a rampage on the sidewalks of New York?

‘This is the Judicial conduct that is forcing thousands of companies to flee New York for other environs, while virtually nobody comes back to the City or State.’

The civil trial begins in October and could run through the end of the year, as Trump continues to lead the GOP field for the Republican presidential nomination.

James said she looks forward to presenting the rest of her case at trial.

‘It’s a devastating ruling,’ said Bill Black, distinguished scholar in residence for financial regulation at the University of Minnesota Law School.

He said cancelling business certificates could hurt Trump’s ability to make money.

‘If the decision is upheld, they have to liquidate the LLCs which actually hold the enormous bulk of the assets,’ Black said, referring to limited liability companies.

Trump is seeking the Republican presidential nomination for 2024 and has maintained a commanding lead in the race despite the criminal charges he faces in multiple cases.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called accusations that he committed fraud ‘ridiculous and untrue,’ and blasted Engoron as a ‘DERANGED’ judge doing the bidding of James, a Democrat.

He said: ‘This is Democrat Political Lawfare, and a Witch Hunt at a level never seen before,’ Trump wrote. ‘If they can do this to me, they can do this to YOU!’

Trump has repeatedly asserted without evidence that indictments he faces are ‘witch hunts.’

James sued Trump in September 2022, accusing him, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization of lying for a decade about asset values and his net worth to defraud banks and insurers into providing better terms.

Engoron said James submitted ‘conclusive evidence’ that Trump had overstated his net worth by between $812 million and $2.2 billion.

‘Even in the world of high finance, this court cannot endorse a proposition that finds a misstatement of at least $812 million dollars to be ‘immaterial,’‘ he wrote.

The judge said Trump’s overvaluations included his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower, and various office buildings and golf courses.

He took particular issue with Trump’s claim that the penthouse was 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters), nearly three times its actual size, resulting in an overvaluation of as much as $207 million.

‘A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud,’ Engoron wrote.

The judge said Trump also grossly overvalued Mar-a-Lago, estimating it was worth as much as $612.1 million, though an assessor said its market value was no more than $27.6 million.

Engoron also chided Trump for offering defenses in a deposition that were ‘wholly without basis,’ including that there was nothing wrong with how he valued properties in a given year if their values subsequently went up.

‘He also seems to imply that the numbers cannot be inflated because he could find a ‘buyer from Saudi Arabia’ to pay any price he suggests,’ the judge wrote.

The judgment came in a case where Trump once again delivered potentially harmful statements during a deposition.

Trump under questioning compared his golf and real estate empire to the Mona Lisa and other priceless artworks.

Trump made the extraordinary claim while describing his decision to hand off control of his business to his adult sons Don Jr. and Eric during his term as president – with New York AG Letitia James sitting across from him in a Manhattan courthouse for a deposition.

‘We have the Mona Lisas of properties,’ Trump told the prosecuting attorney in the April deposition unsealed Wednesday.

Then he bragged about his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland. ‘I could sell that. That’s like selling a painting. A painting on a wall that sells for $250 million,’ he continued.

‘I have great assets,’ Trump gushed – raving about Mar-a-Lago as well as his property at 40 Wall Street, which he said is ‘the best location,’ he told prosecutor Kevin Wallace in James’ office.

Prosecutors claim he has jacked up his net worth by between $812 million and $2.2 billion every year over a decade. James argues Trump inflated his valuations when seeking lending. Trump’s lawyers are asking a judge to toss the suit, calling it a ‘crusade’ over long-ago loans that have been repaid.

‘You don’t have a case and you should drop this case,’ Trump told James.

Trump has sued to delay the trial, accusing Engoron and James of ignoring the appeals court order to narrow the case.

He and the other defendants have said this made it impossible to prepare for trial because they did not know which claims they would have to defend against.

The appeals court is expected to rule on the request for a delay this week.

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