Donald Trump started his political career after making a fortune in real estate. But just as he wants to win back the White House, he risks losing control of part of his empire because he repeatedly inflated his fortune and lied to the banks.
• Also read: Civil lawsuit: Trump responsible for ‘repeated’ financial ‘frauds’
• Also read: A former White House adviser describes Trump’s world as a criminal organization
Even before a massive civil trial opened Monday against the Trump Organization and its associates, including Donald Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron won in part the case of Attorney General Letitia James, who initiated the prosecution in this case.
In a damning ruling, the judge noted that “repeated frauds” had been found and described a system of overvaluing assets involving, for example, the iconic Trump Tower in New York or other properties owned by the group, to the tune of “812 million to 2.2 million euros”. billion dollars” to be able to better negotiate loans with banks.
The consequences included ordering the revocation of the New York State business licenses of Donald Trump and his children and calling on the “parties” to propose “liquidators” responsible for managing “the dissolution of the companies in question.”
The companies targeted in the attorney general’s lawsuit control flagships of the Republican billionaire’s economic success, such as Trump Tower, his restaurants and boutiques on Manhattan’s prestigious 5th Avenue and the nearly century-old skyscraper at 40 Wall Street in the Financial District. whose overvaluation, according to Judge Engoron, would have reached “more than 300 million” dollars.
“This decision simply ends Trump’s ability to do business in New York state,” summarizes former New York prosecutor and Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman.
“Liquidators will manage the assets. “This means that Trump and his organization have no authority to manage them” and will lose control over them, he added to AFP.
The Trump camp immediately announced that it would appeal the decision, the implications of which surprised many experts. For one of his lawyers, Chris Kise, Judge Engoron wants to “nationalize one of the most successful business empires in the United States and take control of private property, even while acknowledging that there is no evidence of default, default or late payment.”
Donald Trump’s lawyers also filed an appeal to delay the trial and limit its scope.
There is a lot at stake for the 77-year-old Republican billionaire, who aims to retake the White House in 2024, and his family. According to Forbes magazine in March 2023, real estate in New York accounts for $720 million of the former president’s fortune (out of a total of $2.5 billion). Outside of New York, the Trump Organization has a presence in luxury hotels, golf clubs or private clubs such as the Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
For Will Thomas, assistant professor of business law at the University of Michigan, there are still many uncertainties after this initial decision, especially because “the liquidators will wait for the outcome of the process” before acting. Should the judge rule partially in favor of the attorney general, the trial has yet to take place to decide possible financial sanctions, with Letitia James seeking $250 million in restitution on behalf of the state of New York.
But in any case, Judge Engoron’s decision, which the former President of the United States (2016-2020) described as “troubled,” “symbolically represents a severe blow to the story that Donald Trump tells about himself as a businessman.” adds the academic.
“We already knew before his presidency that Donald Trump valued his wealth as a symbol of his talent,” recalls the professor. “And what we saw yesterday (Tuesday) was a court saying there was no doubt that Donald Trump systematically lied about his wealth, in enormous amounts, from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars,” adds he added.
Donald Trump is facing criminal charges in several other major legal cases, most notably accusing him of seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Nevertheless, he remains the favorite in the polls for the Republican primaries.