New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday filed a fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children and his company, ABC News reports.
James filed a lawsuit accusing Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization of “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentations” to enrich themselves.
The suit seeks $250 million in penalties and a ban on the Trumps from leading any company in the state.
"We found that Mr, Trump, his children, and the corporation used more than 200 false asset valuations over a ten year period," James said at a news conference.
James argued that Trump through “persistent and repeated business fraud” got favorable loan terms from banks and favorable insurance policies while deflating the value of his assets to pay less in taxes.
"The examples I laid out barely scratch the surface," James said Wednesday. "Claiming you have money you do not have does not amount to the art of the deal. It's the art of the steal."
Trump lawyer denies:
Trump’s lawyer called the lawsuit “meritless.”
"Today's filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law -- rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General's political agenda," Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement Wednesday. "It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General's Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place. We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General's meritless claims."
A Trump Organization spokesperson called the investigation “persistent, targeted, unethical political harassment.”
“However, not only was no bank harmed -- actually, they profited handsomely to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in interest and fees -- and never once took issue with any of the loans in question,” the spokesperson said.
Trump lashes out:
Trump lashed out over the lawsuit on Truth Social, calling it “another witch hunt by a racist attorney general.”
“Attorney General Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James, a total crime fighting disaster in New York, is spending all of her time fighting for very powerful and well represented banks and insurance companies, who were fully paid, made a lot of money, and never had a complaint about me, instead of fighting murder and violent crime, which is killing New York State,” he wrote. “She is a failed A.G. whose lack of talent in the fight against crime is causing record numbers of people and companies to flee New York. Bye, bye!”
