Trump’s Efforts to Hide Cash From NY AG Shot Down in Court
Donald Trump’s desperate attempts to escape the wrath of the New York Attorney General were halted Thursday, when a state judge there took the remarkable step of putting the former president’s company under court supervision—and preventing the billionaire from quietly shifting his money to avoid paying millions in fines.
Justice Arthur F. Engoron intervened at the AG’s request, ordering the appointment of an independent monitor to ensure that the company can’t secretly move assets out of the law enforcement agency’s reach or keep issuing fraudulent financial statements.
“There’s going to be a monitor,” he said in a Manhattan courtroom midday Thursday.
The Trump Organization—the real estate company that propelled Trump into international fame—and its family leadership are accused of engaging in a blatant and long-running bank and tax fraud scheme. Documents filed in court meticulously describe how Trump and the adult family members he made executives there—Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric—persistently inflated the size and value of property to snag better bank loans and claim bigger tax breaks. They now face a $250 million lawsuit from New York AG Letitia James which seeks to cripple the corporation.
She hopes to put the Trumps on trial in 2023, just as Trump is expected to pursue his political ambitions in a return to the White House.
Trump has already taken actions that indicate he might be doing exactly what the AG fears: playing corporate games to avoid accountability.
In recent weeks, he opened a new corporation in the shell company capital of Delaware, comically called “Trump Organization II.” And on Wednesday, he filed a state lawsuit in Florida’s Palm Beach County against the AG’s office trying to keep it from ever accessing any funds he shelters in a legal entity known as a “trust.” The lawsuit seeks a judicial order “declaring that James has no jurisdiction over the assets of a Florida revocable trust.”
In court on Thursday, assistant attorney general Kevin Wallace stressed the importance of having Justice Engoron clamp down on the company, citing "ongoing fraudulent activities at the Trump Organization.” He argued that the AG’s office needs to have “general visibility” into the company so that it doesn’t become an empty shell by the time a trial ends—and it potentially has to pay millions in fines.