Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX NO. 452564/2022
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
EXHIBIT
A
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW Index No.
YORK, by LETITIA JAMES,
Attorney General of the State of New York,
Plaintiff,
-against- SUMMONS
DONALD J. TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP, Date Index No. Purchased:
JR., ERIC TRUMP, IVANKA TRUMP, _____________
ALLEN WEISSELBERG, JEFFREY
MCCONNEY, THE DONALD J. TRUMP
REVOCABLE TRUST, THE TRUMP
ORGANIZATION, INC., TRUMP
ORGANIZATION LLC, DJT HOLDINGS
LLC, DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING
MEMBER, TRUMP ENDEAVOR 12 LLC,
401 NORTH WABASH VENTURE LLC,
TRUMP OLD POST OFFICE LLC, 40
WALL STREET LLC, and SEVEN
SPRINGS LLC,
Defendants.
TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:
You are hereby summoned to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of
your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance,
on the Plaintiff’s attorney within 20 days after service of this summons, exclusive of the day of
service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered
to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment
will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint.
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 1 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
The basis of venue pursuant to CPLR § 503(a) is that Plaintiff is located in New York
County, with its address at 28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005, and because a
substantial part of the events and omissions giving to the claims occurred in New York County.
Dated: New York, New York
September 21, 2022
LETITIA JAMES
Attorney General of the State of New York
By: _______________________________
Kevin Wallace
Kevin Wallace
Andrew Amer
Colleen K. Faherty
Alex Finkelstein
Wil Handley
Eric R. Haren
Louis M. Solomon
Austin Thompson
Stephanie Torre
Office of the New York State
Attorney General
28 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10005
Phone: (212) 416-6376
kevin.wallace@ag.ny.gov
Attorneys for the People of the
State of New York
To:
DONALD J. TRUMP
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street,New York, New York 10120
Fischetti Malgieri
565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 2 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
DONALD TRUMP, JR.
Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas
565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017
ERIC TRUMP
Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas
565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017
IVANKA TRUMP
Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas
565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017
ALLEN WEISSELBERG
Friedman Kaplan Seiler Adelman
7 Times Sq., New York, NY 10036
JEFFREY MCCONNEY
ArentFox Schiff
1301 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd floor, New York, NY 10019
THE DONALD J. TRUMP REVOCABLE TRUST
c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, INC.
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
TRUMP ORGANIZATION LLC
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
DJT HOLDINGS LLC
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 3 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING MEMBER
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
TRUMP ENDEAVOR 12 LLC
c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
401 NORTH WABASH VENTURE LLC
c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
TRUMP OLD POST OFFICE LLC
c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
40 WALL STREET LLC
c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
SEVEN SPRINGS LLC
LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP
40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP
112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 4 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW Index No.
YORK, by LETITIA JAMES,
Attorney General of the State of New York,
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
Plaintiff,
-against-
DONALD J. TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP,
JR., ERIC TRUMP, IVANKA TRUMP,
ALLEN WEISSELBERG, JEFFREY
MCCONNEY, THE DONALD J. TRUMP
REVOCABLE TRUST, THE TRUMP
ORGANIZATION, INC., TRUMP
ORGANIZATION LLC, DJT HOLDINGS
LLC, DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING
MEMBER, TRUMP ENDEAVOR 12 LLC,
401 NORTH WABASH VENTURE LLC,
TRUMP OLD POST OFFICE LLC, 40
WALL STREET LLC, and SEVEN
SPRINGS LLC,
Defendants.
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 5 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. NATURE OF THE ACTION .................................................................................................. 1
A. The Fraudulent Statements of Financial Condition…………………………………………...……………….3
B. Relief Sought………………………………………………………...………………………………………………………….11
II. THE PARTIES ...................................................................................................................... 12
III. JURISDICTION, APPLICABLE LAW, AND VENUE ........................................................ 16
IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS ................................................................................................ 19
A. Overview of Trump Organization Assets…………………………………..……………………………………..20
B. Overview of the Statements of Financial Condition……………………………………………….………..23
C. The Asset Values and Associated Descriptions Presented in the Statements Were
Fraudulent, Misleading, and Not Presented in Accordance with GAAP……………….………...26
1. Cash and Cash Equivalents/Marketable Securities ........................................................ 26
2. Escrow and Reserve Deposits and Prepaid Expenses .................................................... 29
3. Trump Park Avenue ....................................................................................................... 31
4. 40 Wall Street ................................................................................................................. 38
5. Niketown ........................................................................................................................ 47
a. June 30, 2011 and June 30, 2012 valuations of Niketown ......................................... 48
b. Valuations of Niketown from 2013 through 2018...................................................... 50
c. June 30, 2019 valuation of Niketown ......................................................................... 55
d. June 30, 2020 valuation of Niketown ......................................................................... 56
6. Trump Tower.................................................................................................................. 58
a. Valuation of Trump Tower from 2011 to 2014 and 2016 to 2019 ............................. 59
b. 2015 valuation of Trump Tower ................................................................................. 65
7. Seven Springs ................................................................................................................. 67
8. Mr. Trump’s Triplex Apartment .................................................................................... 75
9. 1290 Avenue of the Americas and 555 California (Vornado Partnerships) .................. 84
a. The Restricted Nature of Mr. Trump’s Limited Partnership Interest ......................... 85
b. The False and Misleading Valuations of the Buildings .............................................. 87
10. Las Vegas (Ruffin Joint Venture) .................................................................................. 92
11. Club Facilities and Related Real Estate ......................................................................... 98
a. Mar-a-Lago ............................................................................................................... 101
b. Trump Aberdeen ....................................................................................................... 110
i. The Golf Course Valuations ................................................................................. 111
ii. The Undeveloped Land Valuations ...................................................................... 114
i
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 6 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
c. Trump Turnberry ...................................................................................................... 119
d. TNGC Jupiter ........................................................................................................... 120
e. TNGC Briarcliff ....................................................................................................... 122
i. The Golf Course Valuations ................................................................................. 123
ii. The Undeveloped Land Valuations ...................................................................... 125
f. TNGC LA ................................................................................................................. 126
i. The Golf Course Valuations ................................................................................. 127
ii. The Undeveloped Land Valuations ...................................................................... 128
g. TNGC Colts Neck .................................................................................................... 137
h. TNGC Philadelphia .................................................................................................. 139
i. TNGC DC ................................................................................................................. 140
j. TNGC Charlotte ....................................................................................................... 142
k. TNGC Hudson Valley .............................................................................................. 143
12. Real Estate Licensing Developments ........................................................................... 144
D. The False and Misleading Statements of Financial Condition Were Used to Secure and
Maintain Financial Benefits, Including Financing and Insurance, on Favorable Terms..147
1. Deutsche Bank Loan Facilities ..................................................................................... 148
2. Deutsche Bank Loan Issued in Connection with Trump National Doral Golf Club
(Florida) ....................................................................................................................... 151
3. Deutsche Bank Loan Issued in Connection with Trump Chicago (2012).................... 159
4. Deutsche Bank Loan Issued in Connection with Trump Old Post Office Hotel in
Washington, D.C. ......................................................................................................... 165
5. 40 Wall Street Loan Issued by Ladder Capital ............................................................ 171
6. Seven Springs Loan Issued by Royal Bank America / Bryn Mawr Bank.................... 174
7. Other Efforts To Use The False And Misleading Statements In Commercial
Transactions ................................................................................................................. 176
E. Insurance-Related Benefits…………………………………………………………………...………………………..178
1. Insurance Fraud Against Surety Underwriters ............................................................. 179
2. Insurance Fraud Against Directors & Officers Liability Underwriters........................ 183
F. Ongoing Scheme and Conspiracy……………………………………………………………..……………………189
V. CAUSES OF ACTION ....................................................................................................... 198
VI. PRAYER FOR RELIEF ...................................................................................................... 213
ii
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 7 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
Plaintiff, the People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the
State of New York, as and for their Verified Complaint, respectfully allege:
I. NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. Following a comprehensive three-year investigation by the Office of the Attorney
General (“OAG”), involving interviews with more than 65 witnesses and review of millions of
pages of documents produced by Defendants and others, OAG has determined that Defendants
Donald J. Trump (“Mr. Trump”), Trump Organization LLC and the Trump Organization, Inc.
(collectively with the other named entities, the “Trump Organization”), Allen Weisselberg, and
the other individuals and entities affiliated with Mr. Trump and his companies named as
Defendants, engaged in numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation in the preparation of Mr.
Trump’s annual statements of financial condition (“Statements of Financial Condition” or
“Statements”) covering at least the years 2011 through 2021.
2. These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed
by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual
Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization—including by
Mr. Trump himself. Indeed, Mr. Trump made known through Mr. Weisselberg that he wanted
his net worth on the Statements to increase—a desire Mr. Weisselberg and others carried out
year after year in their fraudulent preparation of the Statements.
3. These acts of fraud and misrepresentation grossly inflated Mr. Trump’s personal
net worth as reported in the Statements by billions of dollars and conveyed false and misleading
impressions to financial counterparties about how the Statements were prepared. Mr. Trump and
the Trump Organization used these false and misleading Statements repeatedly and persistently
to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 8 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, and to
induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums.
4. All of this conduct was in violation of New York Executive Law § 63(12)’s
prohibition of persistent and repeated business fraud, which embraces any conduct that “has the
capacity or tendency to deceive, or creates an atmosphere conductive to fraud.” People v.
Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., 193 A.D.3d 67, 75 (1st Dep’t 2021).
5. These misrepresentations also violated a host of state criminal laws, constituting
repeated and persistent illegality in violation of Executive Law § 63(12). Among other laws,
Defendants repeatedly and persistently violated the following: New York Penal Law § 175.10
(Falsifying Business Records); Penal Law § 175.45 (Issuing a False Financial Statement); and
Penal Law § 176.05 (Insurance Fraud). 1
6. Each Statement from 2011 to 2021 provides Mr. Trump’s personal net worth as of
June 30 of the year it covers, was compiled by Trump Organization executives, and was issued
as a compilation report by Mr. Trump’s accounting firm. Each Statement provides on its face
that its preparation was the responsibility of Mr. Trump, or starting in 2016, the trustees of his
revocable trust, Donald Trump, Jr. and Allen Weisselberg. 2 Each Statement was personally
1
While not a basis for recovery in this action, the conduct alleged in this action also plausibly
violates federal criminal law, including 18 U.S.C. § 1014 (False Statements to Financial
Institutions) and 18 U.S.C. § 1344 (Bank Fraud). Under those provisions, a defendant violates
federal law by knowingly submitting a false document or statement in order to influence the
decision of a federally-insured bank or to obtain money from a bank by means of false
representations or pretenses. There is no requirement of loss or reliance. OAG is making a
referral of its factual findings to the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District
of New York.
2
Mr. Weisselberg was removed as a trustee as of July 2021, after having been indicted by the
New York District Attorney on charges of tax fraud. Mr. Weisselberg pleaded guilty to those
charges on August 18, 2022.
2
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 9 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
certified as accurate by Mr. Trump, by one of his trustees, or in 2021 by Eric Trump, when
submitting the Statement to financial institutions with the purpose and intent that the information
contained in the Statement would be relied upon by those institutions.
7. Each year from 2011 to 2016, Mr. Trump and Mr. Weisselberg would meet to
review and approve the final Statement. When asked questions about those meetings under oath,
both men invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused to
answer. When asked under oath if he continued to review and approve the Statements after
becoming President of the United States in 2017, Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment
privilege and refused to answer.
8. As further evidence of their scheme to inflate the value of Mr. Trump’s assets
when beneficial to his financial interests, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization procured
inflated appraisals through fraud and misrepresentations in 2014 and 2015 for the purpose of
granting conservation easements over two of Mr. Trump’s properties. Through these
conservation easements, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization agreed to forgo their purported
rights to develop areas of the two properties that are the subjects of the easements, which enabled
them to treat as a charitable donation the difference in the value of each property with and
without the relinquished development rights as determined in the appraisals. In the same way
that Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization inflated the valuations of Mr. Trump’s assets for the
Statements, they manipulated the appraisals to inflate the value of the donated development
rights with respect to both conservation easements.
A. The Fraudulent Statements of Financial Condition
9. Each Statement of Financial Condition lists Mr. Trump’s assets and liabilities,
and then presents his “net worth” as the difference between the two. On the asset side, each
Statement includes five basic categories: (i) “cash and cash equivalents;” (ii) monies held in
3
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 10 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
“escrow” and “reserve deposits;” (iii) interests in “partnerships and joint ventures;” (iv) real
estate licensing fees; and (v) by far the largest category – real estate holdings. On the liability
side, each Statement lists “accounts payable and accrued expenses,” loans on “real and operating
properties,” and other mortgages and loans.
10. Mr. Trump’s Statements of Financial Condition for the period 2011 through 2021
were fraudulent and misleading in both their composition and presentation. The number of
grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in
any given year. All told, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants, as part
of a repeated pattern and common scheme, derived more than 200 false and misleading
valuations of assets included in the 11 Statements covering 2011 through 2021.
11. Nearly every one of the Statements represented that the values were prepared by
Mr. Trump and others at the Trump Organization in “evaluation[s]” done with “outside
professionals,” but that was false and misleading; no outside professionals were retained to
prepare any of the asset valuations presented in the Statements. To the extent Mr. Trump and the
Trump Organization received any advice from outside professionals that had any bearing on how
to approach valuing the assets, they routinely ignored or contradicted such advice. For example,
they received a series of bank-ordered appraisals for the commercial property at 40 Wall Street
that calculated a value for the property at $200 million as of August 1, 2010 and $220 million as
of November 1, 2012. Yet in the 2011 Statement, they listed 40 Wall Street with a value $524
million and increased the valuation to $527 million in the 2012 Statement, and to $530 million in
2013—more than twice the value calculated by the “professionals.” Even more egregiously the
valuation of more than $500 million was attributed to information obtained from the same
4
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 11 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
professional appraiser who prepared both valuations putting the building’s value at or just over
$200 million.
12. The inflated asset valuations in the Statements cannot be brushed aside or excused
as merely the result of exaggeration or good faith estimation about which reasonable real estate
professionals may differ. Rather, they are the result of the Defendants utilizing objectively false
assumptions and blatantly improper methodologies with the intent and purpose of falsely and
fraudulently inflating Mr. Trump’s net worth to obtain beneficial financial terms from lenders
and insurers.
13. Nor can the false and fraudulent asset values in the Statements be defended based
on boilerplate disclaimers in the accountant’s compilation report accompanying each Statement.
While the accountants gave notice in the reports that they did not audit or review the Statements
to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by Mr. Trump or the Trump
Organization, they confirmed that their clients were responsible for preparing the Statements in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The
disclaimers may relieve the accountants of certain obligations that would otherwise adhere to
their work on a more rigorous audit engagement, but they do not give license to Mr. Trump or
the Trump Organization to submit to their accountants fraudulent and misleading asset valuations
for inclusion in the Statements.
14. Moreover, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization have no excuse for issuing
Statements of Financial Condition that repeatedly violated GAAP rules in multiple ways despite
expressly representing in the Statements that they were prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Among the many GAAP rules they violated are: (i) including as “cash” funds that Mr. Trump
could not immediately liquidate because they did not belong to him and may never be distributed
5
This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i))
which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and
approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject
filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been
accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 12 of 222
CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.)
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX
INDEXNO.
NO.452564/2022
UNASSIGNED
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838
1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023
09/21/2022
to him; (ii) failing to determine the present value of projected future income when including the
income as part of an asset valuation; (iii) failing to disclose a substantial change in methodology
from the prior year’s statement for how an asset value was derived; (iv) failing to value the
entirety of Mr. Trump’s interest in a partnership, including all limitations and restrictions on his
interest; and (v) including intangibles such as internally-generated brand premiums when
calculating an asset’s value.
15. As discussed in greater detail in the sections that follow, Mr. Trump and others
affiliated with the Trump Organization who are named as Defendants employed a number of
deceptive strategies as part of the overall scheme to fraudulently and falsely inflate Mr. Trump’s
assets in order to comply with Mr. Trump’s instruction to increase his net worth. A chart
showing many of the deceptive strategies employed by Mr. Trump and other Defendants by asset
and year is attached as Exhibit 1, and includes the following, to list just a few:
a. Relying on objectively false numbers to calculate property values. For example,
Mr. Trump’s own triplex apartment in Trump Tower was valued as being 30,000
square feet when it was 10,996 square feet. As a result, in 2015 the apartment
was valued at $327 million in total, or $29,738 per square foot. That price was
absurd given the fact that at that point only one apartment in New York City had
ever sold for even $100 million, at a price per square foot of less than $10,000.
Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX NO. 452564/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 EXHIBIT A CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW Index No. YORK, by LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New York, Plaintiff, -against- SUMMONS DONALD J. TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP, Date Index No. Purchased: JR., ERIC TRUMP, IVANKA TRUMP, _____________ ALLEN WEISSELBERG, JEFFREY MCCONNEY, THE DONALD J. TRUMP REVOCABLE TRUST, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, INC., TRUMP ORGANIZATION LLC, DJT HOLDINGS LLC, DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING MEMBER, TRUMP ENDEAVOR 12 LLC, 401 NORTH WABASH VENTURE LLC, TRUMP OLD POST OFFICE LLC, 40 WALL STREET LLC, and SEVEN SPRINGS LLC, Defendants. TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: You are hereby summoned to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s attorney within 20 days after service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 1 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 The basis of venue pursuant to CPLR § 503(a) is that Plaintiff is located in New York County, with its address at 28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005, and because a substantial part of the events and omissions giving to the claims occurred in New York County. Dated: New York, New York September 21, 2022 LETITIA JAMES Attorney General of the State of New York By: _______________________________ Kevin Wallace Kevin Wallace Andrew Amer Colleen K. Faherty Alex Finkelstein Wil Handley Eric R. Haren Louis M. Solomon Austin Thompson Stephanie Torre Office of the New York State Attorney General 28 Liberty Street New York, NY 10005 Phone: (212) 416-6376 kevin.wallace@ag.ny.gov Attorneys for the People of the State of New York To: DONALD J. TRUMP Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street,New York, New York 10120 Fischetti Malgieri 565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 2 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 DONALD TRUMP, JR. Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas 565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017 ERIC TRUMP Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas 565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017 IVANKA TRUMP Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas 565 Fifth Ave., 7th Fl, New York, NY 10017 ALLEN WEISSELBERG Friedman Kaplan Seiler Adelman 7 Times Sq., New York, NY 10036 JEFFREY MCCONNEY ArentFox Schiff 1301 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd floor, New York, NY 10019 THE DONALD J. TRUMP REVOCABLE TRUST c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, INC. LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 TRUMP ORGANIZATION LLC LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 DJT HOLDINGS LLC LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 3 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING MEMBER LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 TRUMP ENDEAVOR 12 LLC c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 401 NORTH WABASH VENTURE LLC c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 TRUMP OLD POST OFFICE LLC c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 40 WALL STREET LLC c/o The Trump Organization – 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 SEVEN SPRINGS LLC LaRocca Hornik Rosen & Greenberg LLP 40 Wall Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 Habba Maddaio & Associates LLP 112 West 34th Street, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 4 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW Index No. YORK, by LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New York, VERIFIED COMPLAINT Plaintiff, -against- DONALD J. TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP, JR., ERIC TRUMP, IVANKA TRUMP, ALLEN WEISSELBERG, JEFFREY MCCONNEY, THE DONALD J. TRUMP REVOCABLE TRUST, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, INC., TRUMP ORGANIZATION LLC, DJT HOLDINGS LLC, DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING MEMBER, TRUMP ENDEAVOR 12 LLC, 401 NORTH WABASH VENTURE LLC, TRUMP OLD POST OFFICE LLC, 40 WALL STREET LLC, and SEVEN SPRINGS LLC, Defendants. This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 5 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. NATURE OF THE ACTION .................................................................................................. 1 A. The Fraudulent Statements of Financial Condition…………………………………………...……………….3 B. Relief Sought………………………………………………………...………………………………………………………….11 II. THE PARTIES ...................................................................................................................... 12 III. JURISDICTION, APPLICABLE LAW, AND VENUE ........................................................ 16 IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS ................................................................................................ 19 A. Overview of Trump Organization Assets…………………………………..……………………………………..20 B. Overview of the Statements of Financial Condition……………………………………………….………..23 C. The Asset Values and Associated Descriptions Presented in the Statements Were Fraudulent, Misleading, and Not Presented in Accordance with GAAP……………….………...26 1. Cash and Cash Equivalents/Marketable Securities ........................................................ 26 2. Escrow and Reserve Deposits and Prepaid Expenses .................................................... 29 3. Trump Park Avenue ....................................................................................................... 31 4. 40 Wall Street ................................................................................................................. 38 5. Niketown ........................................................................................................................ 47 a. June 30, 2011 and June 30, 2012 valuations of Niketown ......................................... 48 b. Valuations of Niketown from 2013 through 2018...................................................... 50 c. June 30, 2019 valuation of Niketown ......................................................................... 55 d. June 30, 2020 valuation of Niketown ......................................................................... 56 6. Trump Tower.................................................................................................................. 58 a. Valuation of Trump Tower from 2011 to 2014 and 2016 to 2019 ............................. 59 b. 2015 valuation of Trump Tower ................................................................................. 65 7. Seven Springs ................................................................................................................. 67 8. Mr. Trump’s Triplex Apartment .................................................................................... 75 9. 1290 Avenue of the Americas and 555 California (Vornado Partnerships) .................. 84 a. The Restricted Nature of Mr. Trump’s Limited Partnership Interest ......................... 85 b. The False and Misleading Valuations of the Buildings .............................................. 87 10. Las Vegas (Ruffin Joint Venture) .................................................................................. 92 11. Club Facilities and Related Real Estate ......................................................................... 98 a. Mar-a-Lago ............................................................................................................... 101 b. Trump Aberdeen ....................................................................................................... 110 i. The Golf Course Valuations ................................................................................. 111 ii. The Undeveloped Land Valuations ...................................................................... 114 i This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 6 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 c. Trump Turnberry ...................................................................................................... 119 d. TNGC Jupiter ........................................................................................................... 120 e. TNGC Briarcliff ....................................................................................................... 122 i. The Golf Course Valuations ................................................................................. 123 ii. The Undeveloped Land Valuations ...................................................................... 125 f. TNGC LA ................................................................................................................. 126 i. The Golf Course Valuations ................................................................................. 127 ii. The Undeveloped Land Valuations ...................................................................... 128 g. TNGC Colts Neck .................................................................................................... 137 h. TNGC Philadelphia .................................................................................................. 139 i. TNGC DC ................................................................................................................. 140 j. TNGC Charlotte ....................................................................................................... 142 k. TNGC Hudson Valley .............................................................................................. 143 12. Real Estate Licensing Developments ........................................................................... 144 D. The False and Misleading Statements of Financial Condition Were Used to Secure and Maintain Financial Benefits, Including Financing and Insurance, on Favorable Terms..147 1. Deutsche Bank Loan Facilities ..................................................................................... 148 2. Deutsche Bank Loan Issued in Connection with Trump National Doral Golf Club (Florida) ....................................................................................................................... 151 3. Deutsche Bank Loan Issued in Connection with Trump Chicago (2012).................... 159 4. Deutsche Bank Loan Issued in Connection with Trump Old Post Office Hotel in Washington, D.C. ......................................................................................................... 165 5. 40 Wall Street Loan Issued by Ladder Capital ............................................................ 171 6. Seven Springs Loan Issued by Royal Bank America / Bryn Mawr Bank.................... 174 7. Other Efforts To Use The False And Misleading Statements In Commercial Transactions ................................................................................................................. 176 E. Insurance-Related Benefits…………………………………………………………………...………………………..178 1. Insurance Fraud Against Surety Underwriters ............................................................. 179 2. Insurance Fraud Against Directors & Officers Liability Underwriters........................ 183 F. Ongoing Scheme and Conspiracy……………………………………………………………..……………………189 V. CAUSES OF ACTION ....................................................................................................... 198 VI. PRAYER FOR RELIEF ...................................................................................................... 213 ii This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 7 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 Plaintiff, the People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York, as and for their Verified Complaint, respectfully allege: I. NATURE OF THE ACTION 1. Following a comprehensive three-year investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”), involving interviews with more than 65 witnesses and review of millions of pages of documents produced by Defendants and others, OAG has determined that Defendants Donald J. Trump (“Mr. Trump”), Trump Organization LLC and the Trump Organization, Inc. (collectively with the other named entities, the “Trump Organization”), Allen Weisselberg, and the other individuals and entities affiliated with Mr. Trump and his companies named as Defendants, engaged in numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation in the preparation of Mr. Trump’s annual statements of financial condition (“Statements of Financial Condition” or “Statements”) covering at least the years 2011 through 2021. 2. These acts of fraud and misrepresentation were similar in nature, were committed by upper management at the Trump Organization as part of a common endeavor for each annual Statement, and were approved at the highest levels of the Trump Organization—including by Mr. Trump himself. Indeed, Mr. Trump made known through Mr. Weisselberg that he wanted his net worth on the Statements to increase—a desire Mr. Weisselberg and others carried out year after year in their fraudulent preparation of the Statements. 3. These acts of fraud and misrepresentation grossly inflated Mr. Trump’s personal net worth as reported in the Statements by billions of dollars and conveyed false and misleading impressions to financial counterparties about how the Statements were prepared. Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization used these false and misleading Statements repeatedly and persistently to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 8 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, and to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums. 4. All of this conduct was in violation of New York Executive Law § 63(12)’s prohibition of persistent and repeated business fraud, which embraces any conduct that “has the capacity or tendency to deceive, or creates an atmosphere conductive to fraud.” People v. Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., 193 A.D.3d 67, 75 (1st Dep’t 2021). 5. These misrepresentations also violated a host of state criminal laws, constituting repeated and persistent illegality in violation of Executive Law § 63(12). Among other laws, Defendants repeatedly and persistently violated the following: New York Penal Law § 175.10 (Falsifying Business Records); Penal Law § 175.45 (Issuing a False Financial Statement); and Penal Law § 176.05 (Insurance Fraud). 1 6. Each Statement from 2011 to 2021 provides Mr. Trump’s personal net worth as of June 30 of the year it covers, was compiled by Trump Organization executives, and was issued as a compilation report by Mr. Trump’s accounting firm. Each Statement provides on its face that its preparation was the responsibility of Mr. Trump, or starting in 2016, the trustees of his revocable trust, Donald Trump, Jr. and Allen Weisselberg. 2 Each Statement was personally 1 While not a basis for recovery in this action, the conduct alleged in this action also plausibly violates federal criminal law, including 18 U.S.C. § 1014 (False Statements to Financial Institutions) and 18 U.S.C. § 1344 (Bank Fraud). Under those provisions, a defendant violates federal law by knowingly submitting a false document or statement in order to influence the decision of a federally-insured bank or to obtain money from a bank by means of false representations or pretenses. There is no requirement of loss or reliance. OAG is making a referral of its factual findings to the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. 2 Mr. Weisselberg was removed as a trustee as of July 2021, after having been indicted by the New York District Attorney on charges of tax fraud. Mr. Weisselberg pleaded guilty to those charges on August 18, 2022. 2 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 9 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 certified as accurate by Mr. Trump, by one of his trustees, or in 2021 by Eric Trump, when submitting the Statement to financial institutions with the purpose and intent that the information contained in the Statement would be relied upon by those institutions. 7. Each year from 2011 to 2016, Mr. Trump and Mr. Weisselberg would meet to review and approve the final Statement. When asked questions about those meetings under oath, both men invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused to answer. When asked under oath if he continued to review and approve the Statements after becoming President of the United States in 2017, Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege and refused to answer. 8. As further evidence of their scheme to inflate the value of Mr. Trump’s assets when beneficial to his financial interests, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization procured inflated appraisals through fraud and misrepresentations in 2014 and 2015 for the purpose of granting conservation easements over two of Mr. Trump’s properties. Through these conservation easements, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization agreed to forgo their purported rights to develop areas of the two properties that are the subjects of the easements, which enabled them to treat as a charitable donation the difference in the value of each property with and without the relinquished development rights as determined in the appraisals. In the same way that Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization inflated the valuations of Mr. Trump’s assets for the Statements, they manipulated the appraisals to inflate the value of the donated development rights with respect to both conservation easements. A. The Fraudulent Statements of Financial Condition 9. Each Statement of Financial Condition lists Mr. Trump’s assets and liabilities, and then presents his “net worth” as the difference between the two. On the asset side, each Statement includes five basic categories: (i) “cash and cash equivalents;” (ii) monies held in 3 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 10 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 “escrow” and “reserve deposits;” (iii) interests in “partnerships and joint ventures;” (iv) real estate licensing fees; and (v) by far the largest category – real estate holdings. On the liability side, each Statement lists “accounts payable and accrued expenses,” loans on “real and operating properties,” and other mortgages and loans. 10. Mr. Trump’s Statements of Financial Condition for the period 2011 through 2021 were fraudulent and misleading in both their composition and presentation. The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year. All told, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants, as part of a repeated pattern and common scheme, derived more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets included in the 11 Statements covering 2011 through 2021. 11. Nearly every one of the Statements represented that the values were prepared by Mr. Trump and others at the Trump Organization in “evaluation[s]” done with “outside professionals,” but that was false and misleading; no outside professionals were retained to prepare any of the asset valuations presented in the Statements. To the extent Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization received any advice from outside professionals that had any bearing on how to approach valuing the assets, they routinely ignored or contradicted such advice. For example, they received a series of bank-ordered appraisals for the commercial property at 40 Wall Street that calculated a value for the property at $200 million as of August 1, 2010 and $220 million as of November 1, 2012. Yet in the 2011 Statement, they listed 40 Wall Street with a value $524 million and increased the valuation to $527 million in the 2012 Statement, and to $530 million in 2013—more than twice the value calculated by the “professionals.” Even more egregiously the valuation of more than $500 million was attributed to information obtained from the same 4 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 11 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 professional appraiser who prepared both valuations putting the building’s value at or just over $200 million. 12. The inflated asset valuations in the Statements cannot be brushed aside or excused as merely the result of exaggeration or good faith estimation about which reasonable real estate professionals may differ. Rather, they are the result of the Defendants utilizing objectively false assumptions and blatantly improper methodologies with the intent and purpose of falsely and fraudulently inflating Mr. Trump’s net worth to obtain beneficial financial terms from lenders and insurers. 13. Nor can the false and fraudulent asset values in the Statements be defended based on boilerplate disclaimers in the accountant’s compilation report accompanying each Statement. While the accountants gave notice in the reports that they did not audit or review the Statements to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization, they confirmed that their clients were responsible for preparing the Statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The disclaimers may relieve the accountants of certain obligations that would otherwise adhere to their work on a more rigorous audit engagement, but they do not give license to Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization to submit to their accountants fraudulent and misleading asset valuations for inclusion in the Statements. 14. Moreover, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization have no excuse for issuing Statements of Financial Condition that repeatedly violated GAAP rules in multiple ways despite expressly representing in the Statements that they were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Among the many GAAP rules they violated are: (i) including as “cash” funds that Mr. Trump could not immediately liquidate because they did not belong to him and may never be distributed 5 This is a copy of a pleading filed electronically pursuant to New York State court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5-b(d)(3)(i)) which, at the time of its printout from the court system's electronic website, had not yet been reviewed and approved by the County Clerk. Because court rules (22 NYCRR §202.5[d]) authorize the County Clerk to reject filings for various reasons, readers should be aware that documents bearing this legend may not have been accepted for filing by the County Clerk. 12 of 222 CAUTION: THIS DOCUMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY CLERK. (See below.) FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/30/2023 02:30 PM INDEX INDEXNO. NO.452564/2022 UNASSIGNED NYSCEF DOC. NO. 838 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/30/2023 09/21/2022 to him; (ii) failing to determine the present value of projected future income when including the income as part of an asset valuation; (iii) failing to disclose a substantial change in methodology from the prior year’s statement for how an asset value was derived; (iv) failing to value the entirety of Mr. Trump’s interest in a partnership, including all limitations and restrictions on his interest; and (v) including intangibles such as internally-generated brand premiums when calculating an asset’s value. 15. As discussed in greater detail in the sections that follow, Mr. Trump and others affiliated with the Trump Organization who are named as Defendants employed a number of deceptive strategies as part of the overall scheme to fraudulently and falsely inflate Mr. Trump’s assets in order to comply with Mr. Trump’s instruction to increase his net worth. A chart showing many of the deceptive strategies employed by Mr. Trump and other Defendants by asset and year is attached as Exhibit 1, and includes the following, to list just a few: a. Relying on objectively false numbers to calculate property values. For example, Mr. Trump’s own triplex apartment in Trump Tower was valued as being 30,000 square feet when it was 10,996 square feet. As a result, in 2015 the apartment was valued at $327 million in total, or $29,738 per square foot. That price was absurd given the fact that at that point only one apartment in New York City had ever sold for even $100 million, at a price per square foot of less than $10,000.