Is Donald Trump as wealthy as he claims? Is the guy who pockets donations from sometimes cash-strapped supporters, even asks them to help fix his private plane, maybe not that rich? As the former president dips into campaign money to pay for his ever-escalating legal bills, a new report has emerged claiming that over a period of 10 years he used to inflate his net worth not by millions but by billions.
As per NBC News, a new filing made public by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that from 2011 to 2021, Trump would use financial statements to inflate his personal earnings. In so doing, he and his Trump Organization associates would fraudulently secure more favorable loans and investments, “reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits,” as per the filing.
And Trump didn’t go small. He went big:
According to calculations submitted by prosecutors, Trump routinely overstated his personal financial condition by 17% to nearly 39% from 2011 to 2021, and he overstated his personal financial condition by 17% to 31% while he was in office.
During his first year in office, prosecutors allege, Trump overstated his personal wealth by over $1.1 billion and then overstated his financial condition by $1.9 billion in 2018.
Trump’s inflated net worth went as high as $2.2 billion.
The filing offers some examples of Trump’s alleged underhandedness:
In one instance, they argue, Trump valued undeveloped land at his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, based on an assumption that he could build and sell more residential homes than approved by local authorities.
Meanwhile, in the case of his leased property at 40 Wall St. in New York City, Trump at times valued it “at more than twice the appraised value,” they wrote.
Trump also inflated the value of his triplex apartment at Trump Tower by nearly tripling its actual square footage, an error that they argue “inflated the apartment’s value by approximately $100-$200 million each year from 2012 to 2016.”
Trump, of course, denies any wrongdoing, which, like almost all of his allegations, will likely work on fans and no one else.
(Via NBC News)