The New York attorney general has sued former United States president Donald Trump for business fraud.
Attorney General Letitia James filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that Trump and his company committed business fraud involving some of their most prized assets, including properties in Manhattan, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization committed “numerous” acts of fraud between 2011 and 2021.
“Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself, and cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,” James said at the news conference.
The attorney general said she is aiming to recover an estimated US$250m that she said was the result of the fraud.
Trump’s three eldest children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants, along with two longtime company executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney.
James is asking a court to bar Mr. Trump and his children from serving as officers or directors in any New York business. She added that she is referring several criminal charges to federal prosecutors and to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Trump Organization has denied any wrongdoing.
“Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law — rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda,” said Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump.
“It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place.
“We are confident that our judicial system will not stand for this unchecked abuse of authority, and we look forward to defending our client against each and every one of the Attorney General’s meritless claims,” Habba added.
