U.S. tax authorities opened an investigation into lenders and investment partners of Kushner Companies sometime early last year, according to a new Bloomberg report, which cites a person familiar with the matter. Kushner Companies, however, said that “we have never been contacted about our taxes or an audit and to our knowledge, neither have any of our investors.”
Multiple people connected to the real estate investment firm have been subpoenaed within the past year, Bloomberg reported, but the publication said it wasn’t clear if Kushner Companies itself was subpoenaed. Bloomberg said the tax investigation appears unrelated to current investigations into Kushner Companies underway at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Charles Harder, an attorney for Kushner Companies who has also worked with Jared Kushner, said: “Kushner Cos. is not under investigation for any tax issues. It has had no contact with anyone at the IRS or Justice Department Tax Division. It has received no subpoenas or audit requests about its taxes. It is not in tax court on any audits. If there is an investigation about others’ taxes, it has nothing to do with Kushner Cos. or its businesses.”
A spokesperson for Kushner Companies sent the following statement to The Real Deal: “In a rush to publish unsubstantiated information from unnamed sources Bloomberg has admitted in its own story that they are not clear on the facts. There’s a good reason that they are not clear on the facts – they got it wrong. If there is an audit of a third party, it has nothing to do with us. Bloomberg’s ‘so-called reporting’ is irresponsible and actionable. We have never been contacted about our taxes or an audit and to our knowledge, neither have any of our investors.” [Bloomberg] —Will Parker