No. of Recommendations: 8
Gator1984:
If Trump overstated the size and the bank made a loan and did not verify the information with public records, which do exist, then the bank should be up for fraud. The majority of the Trump Organization's financial statements are not public records; his is a private company. Bottom line: Trump and his company committed years of fraud by exaggerating the value of Trump’s assets and net worth on the financial statements he gave to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.
Allen Weisselberg acknowledged in testimony that information in the financial statements wasn’t always accurate.
And disclaimers on the documents are not "get out of jail free" cards. As Engoron wrote
the disclaimer on the financial statements "makes abundantly clear that Mr. Trump was fully responsible for the information contained within" them and that "allowing blanket disclaimers to insulate liars from liability would completely undercut" the "important function" that such statements serve "in the real world." As judge Engoron wrote in his 35-page ruling:
"In defendants' world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies. That is a fantasy world, not the real world."Yep, in the real world each of us is legally responsible for providing accurate information to banks, insurers, and other financial institutions... unless our name is Donald John Trump, in which case rules don't apply.
The Trump Organization was convicted of tax fraud last year in an unrelated criminal case for helping executives dodge taxes on extravagant perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars.
Was that a bogus lawsuit as well?
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-rules-... 