New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she has sued former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization for allegedly widespread fraud concerning false financial statements related to the organization.
Three of Trump’s adult children and others were also included in the lawsuit.
“Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars. For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them,” she said in a statement. “Donald Trump stands out as among the most egregious examples of this misconduct. With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system.”
The lawsuit seeks to block Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump from serving as an officer of a company in New York. James requested a permanent ban on the named Trump companies from operating in New York.
New York is seeking a minimum of $250 million in damages.
The documents filed allege “the number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year.”
“All told, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants, as part of a repeated pattern and common scheme, derived more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets included in the 11 Statements covering 2011 through 2021,” the complaint reads.
James’ office will also be sending a criminal referral to the IRS and U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan.
In response to the lawsuit, Trump lashed out at James on his Truth Social, slamming the lawsuit as a politicized “witch hunt.” He also called her a “racist.”
“I never thought this case would be brought — until I saw her really bad poll numbers,” Trump said. “She is a fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump’ platform, despite the fact that the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her watch!”
