A New York state judge on Tuesday held one of the world’s largest real estate firms – which appraised some of former President Donald J. Trump’s properties – with contempt of federal courts. in connection with a civil investigation into whether he overstated the value of his assets.
Judge Arthur F. Engoron said Cushman & Wakefield failed to comply with a subpoena from the New York attorney general’s office in its investigation of Mr. Trump and his family business. He ordered the company to pay $10,000 in fines daily starting Thursday until they provide the requested documents to the attorney general, Letitia James.
Justice Engoron, separate person despise Mr. Trump in April, punishing the company for failing to respond to a court request ahead of time earlier this month. “Cushman & Wakefield is to blame only for themselves if they choose to handle deadlines cavalierly,” Justice Engoron wrote in an order late Tuesday.
A spokesman for the real estate company said on Wednesday that the company had spent “a lot of expense and effort” to comply with the subpoena and would appeal the ruling.
A spokesman, Michael Boonshoft, said: “The ruling that holds Cushman & Wakefield in contempt demonstrates a failure to understand the extreme lengths to which Cushman has had to comply with a court order,” a spokesman said. Michael Boonhoft said.
The contempt order comes at a pivotal time in Ms. James’ investigation into whether Mr. Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization, deceptively exaggerating value golf clubs, hotels and other properties in its annual financial statements.
Next week, her investigators are expected to question Mr. Trump and his two sworn children, the culmination of a three-year investigation.
Her office could file a lawsuit against Trump and the company within weeks of the interviews, which would allege them fraudulently inflated the value of Trump’s assets to secure favorable loan terms and loans. other financial interests.
Cushman & Wakefield, with 50,000 employees in more than 60 countries, was founded in New York more than a century ago and has grown into one of the largest real estate companies in the world. In addition to brokerage services, the company also appraises commercial real estate for customers.
The firm was hired by the Trump Organization to evaluate three of its properties at the center of Ms. James’ investigation – the Seven Springs Estate in Westchester County, NY; Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles in California; and 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
Ms. James sought information about those assessments from Cushman & Wakefield and information about its broader relationship with Mr. Trump.
“Cushman & Wakefield’s work against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization is clearly relevant to our investigation and we are pleased that the court recognized that and took action to force Cushman into compliance. our subpoena,” James said in a statement. “No individual or company, no matter how powerful, is above the law.”
A company spokesperson said that the company has provided “hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and more than 650 appraisals” to the attorney general’s office since February. In its ruling on Tuesday, Justice Engoron acknowledged that the subpoena included multiple documents but said state rules allow for such requests.
Ms. James, a Democrat, wrote in court papers that the Trump Organization’s business practices were “fraudulent or misleading”, but argued that her office needed to investigate. Trump — as well as his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. – to determine which Trump Organization employee is responsible for any misconduct.
Because the investigation is civil, Ms. James can file a lawsuit, but not criminal charges. However, a lawsuit could deal a major blow to the former president. If Mr Trump is found liable at trial, a judge could impose hefty financial penalties and limit the operations of the Trump Organization in New York, at a time when Mr. Run for president.
Mr Trump, who paid $110,000 to have his contempt order lifted this spring, has denied any wrongdoing and called Ms James’ investigation a “witch hunt”.
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An empire under close scrutiny. Letitia James, attorney general for the state of New York, is currently conducting a civil investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s business practices. Here are the things to know:
Justice Engoron concluded that Mr Trump had not fully complied with Ms James’ subpoena for his personal documents. Mr. Trump was eventually released from contempt, but only after he paid the fine and his lawyers clarified the extent to which they had searched his records.
Mr Trump also fought Ms James’s attempt to roast him under oath, partly arguing that he did not need to answer her questions while he was also facing a criminal investigation. from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office about a number of similar acts.
But Justice Engoron disagreed, and ordered Mr. Trump to sit for impeachment, a ruling that was upheld by the New York state appeals court.
A criminal investigation was underway into Mr. Trump’s indictment earlier this year until the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, developed concerns about whether his office had enough evidence to disqualify Mr. prove that Mr. Trump intentionally misrepresented the value of his assets in the air. annual financial statements.
Some similar challenges may arise in Ms. James’ civil case. At a trial, Mr. Trump’s legal team will likely argue that property valuations are subjective and that any errors were unintentional. They may also note that his financial statements contain many disclaimers, including unaudited property valuations.
However, Ms. James appears to believe she has gathered enough evidence to take action against Mr. Trump. Recently, she said, the former president was “caught” using “funny numbers in his financial documents”.
