Donald Trump has lashed out against the judge in New York who ruled that he had committed fraud for years, inflating his net worth and the value of his real estate empire.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in a civil case on Tuesday that the former president and his company had defrauded banks and insurers by massively inflating the value of his portfolio of skyscrapers, golf clubs and luxury hotels. Engoron stripped Trump of control of some of his flagship New York properties in the $250 million lawsuit brought by Letitia James, the state attorney-general.
In a barrage of posts on his Truth Social platform Trump attacked Engoron and James and denounced the ruling as a “scam”.
“This is a lawsuit that should never have been brought. It is a POLITICALLY MOTIVATED WITCH HUNT by a Racist Attorney General, and a Deranged, Trump Hating Judge. It is ELECTION INTERFERENCE at a level never seen before,” he wrote.
Trump insisted that his net worth was “much greater” than his financial statements suggest and said the judgment was intended to derail his campaign for the White House next year. “My civil rights have been violated,” he added, condemning the “horrible, un-American” judgement.
In his ruling Engoron agreed with James that Trump and his associates had broken the law by inflating the value of real estate assets by up to $2.2 billion over a decade, including his time as president, to secure favourable bank loans. James has also alleged that the company simultaneously deflated property valuations to reduce its tax burden.
The case is set to go to trial next week, but James asked the judge to issue a summary ruling, claiming there was “undisputed evidence” that Trump and the company secured “hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits.”
Engoron wrote in his ruling that court documents submitted in evidence “clearly contain fraudulent valuations”. He added that Trump and the company operated in a “fantasy world”, ignoring planning and rent restrictions on properties to boost their value.
The judge stripped Trump of control of some of his flagship New York properties, cancelling business certificates that allow them to operate. The properties include the landmark 72-storey tower at 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan and a family estate in Westchester County. The former president could even lose control of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan, but the fate of that and other properties will be decided in the months ahead.
Mar-a-Lago’s value claimed at $1bn
Most infuriating to Trump was the judge’s decision that he had overvalued his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The ruling pointed to an assessment by a Palm Beach county assessor which estimated Mar-a-Lago’s value at between $18 million and $27.6 million. Trump had claimed the estate was worth up to $612 million.
Trump is also accused of inflating the valuation of his triplex apartment at Trump Tower by up to $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,” the judge said.
Trump’s son Eric, who manages the property business at the Trump Organisation, claimed that Mar-a-Lago was in fact worth more than $1 billion, “making it arguably the most valuable residential property in the country.” As evidence Eric posted real estate listings of other Palm Beach properties far smaller than his father’s estate.
“Never before have I seen such hatred toward one person by a judge,” Trump’s son said. “We have run an exceptional company . . . developing some of the most iconic assets in the world. Yet today, the persecution of our family continues.”
James is seeking $250 million in damages, a ban on the Trumps from running a business in New York and to stop the Trump Organisation from engaging in business operations for five years.
