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Chicago

Chicago’s Trump Tower included in NY AG lawsuit

Filing alleges Trump under- and over-valued the property

Letitia James and Donal Trump with Trump Tower Chicago
Letitia James and Donal Trump with Trump Tower Chicago (Getty, Trump Tower)

Donald Trump’s legal woes have found their way to the Windy City.

The Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago has been cited in the multimillion-dollar fraud lawsuit filed against the former President.

The suit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges he undervalued properties to save money and then overvalued properties to secure larger loans, the Chicago Tribune reported. The Trump Tower on Wabash Avenue is one of the properties specifically named in the filing.

The 220-page document asserts that the 100-story tower was appraised at $133 million by Deutsche Bank, which enabled Trump to leverage a larger loan from the institution. Yet, Trump also claimed that the building was essentially worthless in an effort to get a tax break.

The lawsuit alleges Trump and his Trump Organization purposefully excluded the Chicago Trump Tower from its financial statements since it was built in 2009 in an effort to hide that he was reporting different values depending on a desired outcome.

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“Since 2009 its value has been excluded from the Statements of Financial Condition,” the lawsuit reads. The statements are balance sheets that go to lenders, showing assets and liabilities.

According to sworn testimony, the lawsuit states, “Trump did not want to take a position on the Statements that would conflict with a position about the property’s value he has represented to tax authorities. (The) investigation revealed that the tax position taken was that the property had become worthless according to Mr. Trump, and thus formed the basis of a substantial loss under the federal tax code.”

Since Trump already allegedly certified his statements of financial conditions as true and accurate in multiple loan agreements, he could face serious consequences for misrepresentation.

The consequences James is seeking in the lawsuit are far-reaching. James is asking for the named members of the Trump family to be ousted from leadership of the Trump Organization, along with an independent monitor appointed to oversee the company’s financial practices.

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— Victoria Pruitt

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Donald TrumpPoliticsTrump International Hotel & Tower