The alleged value of Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue penthouse came under scrutiny this week during trial testimony in the New York attorney general’s $250 million civil fraud case against the former president.
Donald Bender, Donald Trump’s former accountant at the accounting firm Mazars USA, testified Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court that he saw errors between the value listed for the fancy pad in financial documents and its potential sale price.
Bender explained from the witness stand that while he was not in charge of auditing the company’s finances, he “from time to time” told Trump Organization officials that there were discrepancies in the company’s financial documents, according to a CNN report.
He once pointed out that there was a difference in the value of Ivanka’s penthouse in the financial documents compared to what was listed as a purchase option for her.
The discrepancy was cited in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Trump, 77, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., and the family business, alleging that from 2011 to 2021, they overstated the real estate mogul’s net worth to be able to obtain more benefits. loan and insurance conditions.
Accountant Donald Bender arrives at court on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.John Nacion/Shutterstock
The lawsuit claims Ivanka’s Trump Park Avenue apartment was valued at $20.8 million in 2011 and 2012 financial statements, despite an $8.5 million purchase option in the lease.
His lease stated that he could have purchased the pad for “substantially below market rent for similar units in the building,” according to the lawsuit.
Donald Trump has attended the first two days of the trial. APTrump reportedly valued Ivanka’s Manhattan penthouse at more than $20 million, while she had the option to buy it for $8 million. AFP via Getty Images James’ lawsuit claims Trump’s net worth was exaggerated so he could obtain more advantageous loan and insurance terms.Christopher Sadowski
Ivanka had previously been a defendant in the lawsuit until an appeals court ruling in June dismissed the charges against her because they fell outside the statute of limitations.
She and the three other Trump family members in the case are listed as witnesses and could be called to testify in the trial, which began Monday and is expected to last until the end of December.
Mazars separated from the Trump Organization in 2022 and found that Trump’s “Disclosures of Financial Condition” from 2011 to 2020 “should no longer be relied upon.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James is prosecuting the $250 million civil fraud case against Trump.AP
Bender resumed his testimony on Tuesday, with Trump again present in the courtroom in Lower Manhattan, dressed in a blue suit, red tie and white shirt.
The 45th president and two-time Republican presidential candidate, who claims the case is a sham, repeatedly held side conversations with his attorney and fiddled with a piece of paper as the attorney general’s office continued to question Bender.
James also attended the second day of the trial.
The case is decided by Judge Arthur Engoron and not a jury.
Ivanka Trump leaves her Manhattan penthouse, December 2016.SplashNews.com
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Source: vtt.edu.vn