Former President Donald Trump inflated his net worth by billions in order to get better loans, and now the state of NY is taking him to court over it ... seeking $250 million and penalties for his children too.
New York's Attorney General Letitia James announced the lawsuit Wednesday morning, alleging Trump engaged in widespread fraud for years to boost his real estate holdings. According to the suit, "The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year.”
The AG adds, "All told, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants, as part of a repeated pattern and common scheme, derived more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets" over the course of 10 years ... 2011 to 2021.
The suit says the victims of Trump's alleged fraud were the lenders and financial institutions that did business with him based on those false numbers.
One example of Trump's alleged inflation of his assets focuses on his Mar-a-Lago estate. According to the suit, the South Florida property "should have been valued at about $75 million, but it was valued at $739 million."
The Empire State wants Trump's kids to pay a price as well. The lawsuit seeks to bar Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump from being officers of any company in the state.
Trump's attorney Alina Habba denies any wrongdoing on the former president's part, and says the lawsuit is "neither focused on the facts nor the law – rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda."
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said, "Our criminal investigation concerning former President Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization, and its leadership is active and ongoing."