New York Attorney General Letitia James is joining Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s criminal investigation into the Trump Organization, CNN first reported.
“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA,” James’ spokesman, Fabien Levy, told the outlet.
James’ office will continue its civil probe into former President Donald Trump’s real estate firm, which is examining whether the Trump Organization falsely inflated real estate values at several of its properties, including the skyscraper at 40 Wall Street and Seven Springs resort in Westchester County.
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James’ office is now working with Vance’s office to determine whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and insurance companies about the value of properties, along with whether it paid the appropriate taxes.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen previously claimed in testimony before Congress that Trump inflated and deflated the value of his assets to either secure loans and insurance coverage or reduce taxes.
Vance is one of the only known investigators to have access to eight years’ worth of Trump’s tax returns, among other financial records. The criminal probe could potentially lead to charges against the former president as well as his associates, while James’ civil probe would not.
[CNN] — Sasha Jones