NY AG Letitia James sues Donald Trump for fraud, seeks a $250 million judgment

Out of all of the lawsuits, criminal investigations, impeachments, civil investigations, depositions, congressional hearings and journalistic investigations into Donald Trump, the one I’ve followed the least is the NY Attorney General’s investigation into Trump Org, the actual New York-based business. Trump Org is a complicated web involving real estate, golf courses, hotels and Trump’s personal assets. And everything is corrupt, from top to bottom. New York AG Letitia James held a press conference on Wednesday announcing the civil charges against Donald Trump and his adult children (except for poor Tiffany). AG James has already handed off her investigation to criminal prosecutors and the IRS, so prison may be on the table eventually, but not immediately. The immediate concern for the Trumps is that they’re not going to be able to borrow any money from legitimate banks and they’re going to have a hell of a time paying back their loans (which are reportedly in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars). Trump Org is likely to be dismantled in some substantial way too.

For 20 years, Donald Trump and his family enriched themselves through “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentations,” New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges in a new lawsuit that accuses the Trumps of “grossly” inflating the former president’s net worth by billions of dollars and cheating lenders and others with false and misleading financial statements.

The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeks a $250 million judgment and a prohibition on any of the Trumps leading a company in the state of New York.

“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 press conference announcing the charges.

Among other allegations, the suit claims that the former president’s Florida estate and golf resort, Mar-a-Lago, was valued as high as $739 million, but should have been valued at around one-tenth that amount, at $75 million. The suit says that higher valuation was “based on the false premise that it was unrestricted property and could be developed for residential use even though Mr. Trump himself signed deeds donating his residential development rights and sharply restricting changes to the property.”

James is referring her findings to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who could possibly open a criminal investigation into bank fraud, according to a footnote in the lawsuit.

Through “persistent and repeated business fraud,” the Trumps convinced banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than deserved, according to the lawsuit, which named the former president, three of his adult children, the company, and two of its executives, Allan Weisselberg and Jeff McConney.

[From ABC News]

I’m including the video of AG James’s presser below. This investigation has felt, at times, like it was moving at a snail’s pace, but I’m impressed with how thoroughly AG James presents her case and her evidence. We knew that Allan Weisselberg had basically turned state’s evidence, as have several other people in the accounting/business side of Trump Org. James went about this methodically, building her case with not only witness testimony but the motherlode of receipts.

There’s a lot of talk about Melania Trump and whether she’ll finally divorce him. Please, she stayed with that diapered goat through all kinds of bullsh-t. She’s not going to pull the ripcord just yet, not when she’s so close to being his widow.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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69 Responses to “NY AG Letitia James sues Donald Trump for fraud, seeks a $250 million judgment”

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  1. Southern Fried says:

    Hallelujah!

  2. Becks1 says:

    I wish we could post GIFs here because I have so many running through my head, LOL.

    But well done AG James. Well done. A methodical, detailed, and damning investigation. Well done.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ Becks1, I always knew in my heart of hearts that AG Ms. James would bring him down. Though I was surprised that Weisselberg turned states evidence, as I thought for certain that he wouldn’t sing.

      The beauty in Ms. James’s indictment is that she has included his adult children as well. All to be condemned to a life viewed as the thieving, lying and unscrupulous family that they all are.

      • Lucy says:

        I want Jared’s $2 BILLION Saudi money frozen and investigated too. May they all pull each other with their grasping hands into prison, or at least out of public life. May they become laughing stocks, rejected by even the MAGAts, who will drive themselves into smaller and smaller corners.

        I feel better now 😄.

        Seriously, it’s Finding Out season!

      • Giddy says:

        Weisselberg is too old to contemplate a long term in prison. It would truly be a death sentence for him. I’m sure he has been promised either no term or a short term in a federal white collar prison.

    • JanetDR says:

      It’s delightful to contemplate how this plays out!

  3. Seaflower says:

    I think it’s lucky Tiffany.

    Melania will divorce him if she thinks the money is going to dry up. (Also, I’m still not convinced the blonde in the thick coat and dark glasses is her – holds her body and head differently to Melania. Wasn’t there a SS agent who looked similar?)

    • AmB says:

      Tiffany may turn out to be the smart one.

      Melania probably missed her chance – whatever her deal is, 0 times X still equals 0.

      • AmyB says:

        @AmB

        Yes, Tiffany is probably thanking God above for her father ignoring her for the majority of her life LOL!! I know I would be.

      • LadyMTL says:

        I was thinking the same thing re: Melania. She’d divorce him in a heartbeat if the money disappeared, but it’d be too late at that point. The only one I feel kind of bad for is Barron – he didn’t ask to be a part of that awful family, and he’s still so young too.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ LadyMTL, Barron will grow up to be just as vile a human as his parents are. Though the only sympathy I might hold out for him is that he is still a minor.

        As for Melanoma, she is certainly screwed as any chance of divorcing him, with a sizable settlement, has long since passed. If Drumpf was to die, she will be the last one on the long list of debtors that which walk away with nothing.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        * debtors which will leave her to walk away with nothing.

      • Justwastingtime says:

        Here is a guess. The long delay for the move from NYC to DC was the negotiation to settle a lump sum of money on her – to be transferred right away with more to follow if she stayed throughout his term. Unless she is a fool, and I don’t think she is a fool, she has substantial funds now that have been trasnferred to her parents and child and that are structured in a way that they can’t be clawed back. Wanna bet she understands money laundering?

    • Sarita says:

      I came here to say that’s not Melania. Jesus I forgot about the body doubles, truly wild times we are living

  4. Paulkid says:

    All hail, Leticia James and Merrick Garland! I find I am actually looking forward to ” Trump News” today!
    It will be fascinating to see how Melania will spend her post Trump years.

  5. ThatsNotOkay says:

    The Trumps have not been able to borrow from legit US banks for two decades. That’s why they started going after Russian money and Deutsche Bank. That’s their source of funding. Then Kennedy retires from SCOTUS after having a talk with Trump—Kennedy, whose son at Deutsche Bank was in charge of the division that loaned Trump untold suns for his real estate crimes. Trump blackmailed Kennedy into getting yet another SCOTUS seat. It’s all connected and corrupt and criminal and destabilizing to the fabric of our union.

    • notasugarhere says:

      They’ve been laundering millions/billions in Russian oligarch cash through Drumpf properties in NYC since the 80s, it is nothing new. They’ve gotten away with all of it.

    • Ponchorella says:

      Yeah, “justice” Kennedy was forced to step aside, most likely to keep his son’s sketchy (criminal) deals with Trump at Deutsche Bank concealed. Abort the “supreme” court!

  6. Lucy2 says:

    You know that scene in Golden Girls where Blanche gets…overstimulated and sprays herself with water?
    That’s me reading this news.

  7. Seraphina says:

    I watched late into the night – this and the other two legal proceedings. He is so screwed. But he is a slick one. Snakes usually are. He was on Fox last night and he is crazy. Even CNN played a clip of it and they laughed at his responses to the questions.
    AG James is not playing around. She even names the kids. And they aren’t kids – adults and will be held accountable like the rest of us peons. Legal experts are saying it’s a very thorough legal brief and he better be prepared.
    Personally, I dont know how he hasn’t had a stroke with all these problems. Yesterday was BAD for trump and his family.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ Seraphina, I am actually surprised as well that he hasn’t had a stroke yet too. I thought for certain that the combination of the execution by the DOJ would break him, but no it didn’t but this very well may.

      • Seraphina says:

        I was discussing the lack of stroke with my husband and he said: this family doesn’t operate like you -normal people- do. You can’t understand something like that.
        And he is right. As the saying goes: it takes crazy to understand crazy.

      • lucy2 says:

        I’ve been wondering the same thing. He is by no means a healthy person, and I cannot imagine all the stress.

    • AnnaKist says:

      Thank you for this post. We in Australia never get to see the full picture certain news items from the US.

      I also thought he would have had a stroke by now. They have be so many instances where this could have happened. When he lost the 2020 election he was almost apoplectic, but I guess the cheeseburgers, Coke and two scoops settled him down. Anyone who has had cockroaches in their home will know how difficult they are to get rid of. Trump is a cockroach.

  8. Miranda says:

    This meltdown should be entertaining, right? Very eager to see which kid turns against him first. (Ivanka. It’ll be Ivanka. She’s the only one who has shown any awareness that her family is deeply f–ked up and criminal, but she’s always been too much of a greedy coward to say “I’m out”.)

    • Christine says:

      She can’t quit the family grift, because she’s profited most of them all. I think the bigger question is will Jared flip on his wife

      • Louisa says:

        Jared is as much a criminal as his wife and FIL. The $2bn he got from Saudi Arabia needs to be looked into as no way that was legit.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      I think Ivanka turned on him regarding his federal crimes on January 6. Jared, too. And if it comes to it, Ivanka will turn on Jared. After all, she’s not the one with $2 billion from the Saudis & a previous desperate cash grab from Qatar to save 666 (lol) Park Ave.

      As for this civil suit, Ivanka’s in trouble like the rest.

  9. Emily says:

    What’s interesting is, as everything falls apart around him, Trump is starting rallies again and talking about running in 2024 as if it will shield him from consequences.

    I hope he rots in jail for the remaining couple years of life he has left.

    • BeanieBean says:

      Those rallies are his ready source of cash. Once–IF–he declares his candidacy, that’ll dry up.

  10. Yup, Me says:

    I’ve been laughing about this since yesterday. Based on the timelines of other “old money” families, this was supposed to be the generation where they officially made the leap from criminal enterprise to legitimate established business empire, but Donald is such a greedy, narcissistic buffoon that he’s going to take them all down, instead (as well as setting a precedent for the take downs of others who have quietly operated similarly behind the scenes).

    Between this and the other investagtions in other states, he will spend the rest of his miserable life entagled in lawsuits, watching his family’s businesses crumble. It’s a fitting end for someone who has spent years avoiding accountability by being a litigious pos.

  11. SarahCS says:

    I’m not going to claim being in any was prescient but as more of who he was came to light when he was running for president I wondered whether having that much attention on his business dealings could in any way be a good idea – assuming he didn’t manage to find a way to stay on as dictator (and we saw how close you came to that).

    How nice to have good news stories in the press.

  12. shanaynay says:

    Hopefully, whatever LJ has on him and his f’ked up family sticks. I’m tried of this criminal family getting away with sh*t!. I’m still waiting for them to be locked up, but I’m certainly not holding my breath. I don’t trust the FBI, judges, or the DOJ to do the right thing. I personally feel/think that they are all on the take. I’ve love to be proven wrong!!

  13. Digital Unicorn says:

    Considering Putin has been bumping off his oligarchs it’s only a matter of time before Donny Boy has an accident like Ivana’s.

    The orange pig will squeal to save his own lard ass – the crotch goblins will throw each other under the bus to fight over what is left of the Trump empire once he’s gone from whatever country will have them once they flee to avoid jail time.

    Deutchse Bank has ALL the receipts and they had no choice but to co-operate.

  14. Merricat says:

    The IRS is how we get mobsters in the end.

    • Midnight@theOasis says:

      So true. Al Capone was done in on tax evasion. Don’t mess with the IRS.

      • AmyB says:

        AND – NY AG Letita James made criminal referrals to the IRS regarding Trump, based on her civil suit. This may have taken a long time to come to fruition, but they have amassed their evidence through Michael Cohen, and Allan Weisselberg turning state’s evidence, among other things. Trump (and his grotesque kids) are F**KED!

      • nutella toast says:

        Remember Trump cut the 2018 IRS budget by $239 million and reduced staffing by approximately 17% over his tenure. We had identity theft so I speak to IRS agents on the regular trying to deal with the fallout and….they’re understaffed and exhausted. And frustrated. You never want to frustrate the IRS. Just sayin’. Especially when you legitimately have something (or lots of somethings) to hide.

    • Seraphina says:

      @Merricat- truth! You speak no lies.

  15. Mireille says:

    Don’t feel bad for Tiffany. She’s young so she’s got years to come to start her own family grift.

    I was busy at work yesterday so I’m just catching up. Did Orange Blob induced his word vomit in response to the news on Truth Social, Newsmax, Faux News? Did he go full Red Splotchy Rage on the media and NY yet? Did NY ATG Leticia James wear a red cape flapping in the wind when she made the announcement?

    What about Red Rage’s plastic daughter and her creepy mannequin consort? Coke-head fiend son? And that other son…the dumb one? Any drug-fueled or zombie-like responses from them?

    Damn I missed a lot being in boring meetings yesterday!!!!

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      There is a clip of him giving an interview where he claims that he can declassify top secret doc’s just by thinking it/saying it out loud and that he didn’t have to follow the process if he didn’t want to.

      • Mireille says:

        Thanks! I was just now viewing a small clip of that interview online. I feel like I lost a couple of brain cells watching it though…

      • AmyB says:

        Yes, Trump claims that bullshit in interviews (he can declassify documents with the wave of his hand), but interestingly, his lawyers are saying nothing about that in the proceedings with the Special Master appointed regarding the documents found at Mar-a-Lago LMAO!!

        The clips I have seen of him in interviews lately are astounding in their craziness and stupidity!! And there are still MAGA imbeciles giving this con man more money – HUH?!

      • Josephine says:

        It’s been said by actual experts (Barbara McQuade tweeted about it, and she’s a former US atty), but disclassifying the documents does not mean they were his to take — part of her tweet: “Government documents that pertain to the national defense may not be withheld from the government upon request for return.”

        Not that anyone believes that he declassified anything. His list of excuses is so long, contradictory, and confusing.

  16. MerlinsMom1018 says:

    “diapered goat”
    Kaiser. Lordamercy! 😆😆😆😆
    I.Am.Deceased.

    I also said on Twitter yesterday that I had trump, sr.throwing every last one of them under the bus to save his own orange ass on my bingo card and here we are!

  17. ML says:

    Brilliant work, Letitia James, thank you!!

  18. Betsy says:

    This was good news to hear yesterday but I’m just burnt out waiting. The man stole and quite possibly sold top top secret documents and he’s still running out that clock. It’s a nice development, but I’m just kind of dead inside.

    • Louisa says:

      That’s exactly where I am Betsy. I feel nothing over this news. He has literally stolen top secret documents and yet he is still out there riling up his base at hate rallies, spouting nonsense on TV and mulling over another run for president. I’ve really lost hope.

    • JRenee says:

      The level of tip toeing around him and his criminal enterprise is definitely a black eye on democracy, any other citizen would have been prosecuted years ago.
      Maybe he slip away to Russia to hide…

  19. olliesmom says:

    Lock them up! Lock them all up!

    His three oldest children are just as corrupt as he his.

    I’ll bet Tiffany and Barron aren’t feeling so bad about being the ones that are ignored by Daddy right now.

  20. Lizzie Bathory says:

    As I’ve said before, unless he dies first, Trump will go to prison for the documents at Mar-a-Lago. He also has criminal exposure for the Georgia case. (He doesn’t understand his exposure in either of these cases & he has the worst attorneys he’s ever had in his life.)

    But I guarantee he’s more upset about this civil suit. This is targeting his brand as a real estate tycoon & is likely to devastate the family financially. And other prosecutors will smell blood in the water.

    • Yup, Me says:

      Dumbass Donnie has been doing his best to devastate the family financially for decades. His father kept cleaning up after him and then, once they were old enough to join the con, his kids (somewhat) did as well. Donald was just determined not to fail on his own.

  21. Giddy says:

    I’m looking forward to seeing where that excellent brown-noser Lindsey Graham lands.

  22. death by bacon says:

    Thank you sweet baby Jesus for taking the wheel and be(ing) a prosecutor.

    Cuz this is 7 to 50 years overdue!

  23. Olive Malone says:

    I just wish someone close to him would whisper in his ear that DeSantis is secretly behind all of these investigations and “attacks” on him because DeSantis wants Trumps base with Trump out of the way. Let Trump then go wild attacking DeSantis and their respective camps implode with infighting.

    A girl can dream…

  24. Linney says:

    When Trump was on with Hannity (I don’t watch it but I saw a clip on Youtube!) he said all he had to do to declassify documents was “think it” and they are declassified. Even for Trump, he is totally losing it. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but I have been disappointed/devastated too many times. However, I do think even Trump realizes he’s screwed. That’s one of the reasons he is “embracing” more QANON. Right. Because they will riot, take over the country and make him dictator. ???? Trump’s pattern has been to lie and then just double down on that lie until the cows come home. But now, his “theory of the case” keeps changing. Another reason I think he is growing desperate.

  25. Jaded says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if the Orange Turd blames Melania for taking the classified documents, and she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. (Yes it’s a joke but we all know he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to throw her and several of his children, under the bus.)

  26. Valerie says:

    This morning on The View, Sunny Hostin said that a single fraudulent financial claim can land you in prison. ONE. He has made several. What’s it going to take? He’s broke, no capable or reputable lawyer wants to touch him, and even his most ardent supporters have turned away from him and set their sights on DeSantis. What’s the holdup? If anyone else had tried even a fraction of what he has gotten away with, they would’ve been in cuffs so fast they wouldn’t have even had time to think about their next move. Seriously. This snail’s pace is ridiculous.

  27. Joanna I’m says:

    I’m glad he’s getting prosecuted but at this point I have zero confidence that he will get locked up. He seems to slither his way out of any consequences for his actions.

  28. French Hen says:

    He looks even worse than usual, if that’s possible. Trapped, as it were. And it’s glorious.