NY prosecutors want info on Paul Manafort’s real estate loans

Manhattan’s District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. requested information on $16 million in real estate loans issued to Paul Manafort amid a fraud and money laundering probe into the former campaign chairman for President Trump.

Manafort and his wife borrowed $16 million against two New York properties and a Virginia home from Federal Savings Bank, a Chicago-based lender with a mere $67 million in equity. The bank’s head Steve Calk personally knew Manafort, was a member of Trump’s economic advisory team and hoping for a gig as Army Secretary, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Manafort’s Brooklyn townhouse was in foreclosure around the time he landed the loan, the Journal reported, after a mortgage backed by the property and used to fund real estate investments by his son-in-law went into default. The son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai, ran a real estate investment business focused on California. A recent lawsuit by an investor accused him of running a Ponzi scheme, a charge the FBI is investigating.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently sought information about Yohai’s investments. The AG and Vance are both examining whether Manafort used real estate deals to launder money. [WSJ] — Konrad Putzier