Donald Trump and three of his adult children were sued for “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday in a civil investigation.
The lawsuit was filed in a New York state court in Manhattan. Trump Organization was accused of wrongdoing in preparing Trump’s annual statements of financial condition from 2011 to 2021. Trump and the Trump Organization misstated the values of its real estate properties to obtain favorable loans and tax benefits.
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The complaint asks the New York Supreme Court to bar Trump, as well as Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, from serving as executives at any company in New York, and to bar the Trump Organization from acquiring any commercial real estate or receiving loans from any New York-registered financial institution for five years.
The civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court seeks at least $250 million in damages, to permanently bar Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump from serving as an officer of a company in New York, and permanently prohibit the Trump companies named in the suit from doing business in New York state.
The Republican former president has denied any wrongdoing and described James’ probe as a politically motivated witch hunt. James is a Democrat. The Trump Organization has called James’ allegations “baseless.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has been conducting a criminal investigation of Trump and his company that mirrors in many ways the civil probe by James. But the DA’s office has not lodged any criminal charges to date, and since the beginning of this year has appeared unlikely to do so.