New York fraud case a ‘scam’, says Trump as trial begins
Trump accused of inflating his assets and his own net worth from 2011 to 2021 to obtain favorable bank loans and lower insurance premiums.
NEW YORK: A civil fraud trial against Donald Trump began on Monday with a New York state lawyer accusing the former president of generating more than $1 billion by lying. But Trump blasted the case as a “scam.”
The trial in a downtown Manhattan courtroom case concerns accusations by state Attorney General Letitia James that Trump inflated his assets and his own net worth from 2011 to 2021 to obtain favorable bank loans and lower insurance premiums.
James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.
Trump looked on with his arms crossed are Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in James’ office, called Trump “materially inaccurate” in describing his finances to banks and insurers.
“This isn’t business as usual, and this isn’t how sophisticated parties deal with each other,” Wallace said in his opening statement. “These are not victimless crimes.”
Christopher Kise, a lawyer for Trump, countered in his opening statement that the financials for Trump and the Trump organization were entirely legal.
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