New York City, NY: Donald Trump may have his assets seized by New York Attorney General Letitia James in the near future if he fails to remit a $454 judgment rendered against him on Monday for civil fraud.
The precarious Trump Tower and the Trump Building, both located in New York, as well as over a dozen golf and social clubs, including the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, have been identified as properties that are in jeopardy. The judgment would be satisfied using the value of the properties that the Trump Organization falsely reported, in the event that Trump is unable to post the surety.
Court documents pertaining to the civil fraud case in New York contain both the estimated and Trump-claimed values of a number of the properties. The Trump Organization discovered the erroneous valuations on loan applications and financial statements as it attempted to obtain financing against the properties.
Additionally, some of the strategies James claimed Trump employed to exaggerate or, in some instances, deflate those values in order to obtain loans, evade taxes, or otherwise pursue capital gains are detailed in the documents.
Certain properties bearing the name Trump do not in any way belong to him. Trump Plaza, located in Manhattan at 167 E. 61st St., is owned by a consortium of investors, which includes JP Morgan Chase, as reported by the Automated City Register Information System of New York City.
The Trump Organization owns only a partial interest in additional structures, including Trump Tower. The building’s retail and commercial spaces are owned by the Trump Organization, while Trump himself possesses a triplex apartment.
James’ report indicates that Trump estimated the worth of the apartment to be $327 million. The valuation was computed at $29,738 per square foot, or approximately 30,000 square feet, of the apartment. The residence is, however, only about 11,000 square feet in size.
Trump assessed the value of Trump Park Avenue, located at 502 Park Avenue, New York, at a range of $90.9 million to $350 million from 2011 to 2021. It was appraised at $84.5 million in 2020, but Trump’s financial statements reflected a value of $135.8 million.
James asserts that the Trump Organization’s reported building value was substantially augmented by the value of vacant rental properties. In 2010, twelve “rent-stabilized units” were assessed a total value of $750,000 by an independent bank.
Trump estimated that they were worth $50 million. In February, subsequent to the concluding arguments of the sentencing proceedings for civil fraud, a news conference was convened at the Trump Building located at 40 Wall St. by Trump and his attorney, Alina Habba. Although Trump does not possess ownership of this structure, he does hold a ground lease agreement for it. This signifies that he rents the property in exchange for an interest in it.
