by Anony Mee, American Thinker:
I feel sorry for President Trump, his family, his colleagues and coworkers, and all who depend on his various enterprises for their livelihood. The seven-count New York City fraud lawsuit has been a years-long mess. But The City may well have brought about its own demise in its blinkered pursuit of one man.
I’m no lawyer, but I have done business, so I took a look at Judge Engoron’s 92-page ruling from the perspective of a prospective investor in New York. Here’s what I learned.
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In 2011, Trump received a $125 million loan from Deutsche Bank for his Doral, Florida, golf resort and, in 2012, another loan for $107 million for his Chicago hotel and residential building. Deutsche Bank and the Trump conglomeration had had a contentious relationship, but the bank still thought he was worth the risk for these collateralized loans especially because the bank, like so many others, was just coming out of the 2008 lending crisis and real estate collapse.
Trump repaid the loans in full and on time. Neither party registered any complaints. It is noteworthy that New York first began its investigations on the heels of Trump’s announcement of his candidacy for president in 2015. I would guess that this was most likely part of the Democrat cabal organized by Clinton and Obama to ensure Hillary’s election.
So, where was the harm that allowed this lawsuit to go forward? According to the judgment, Trump et al inflated the value of properties in financial statements submitted to obtain loans and insurance. This somehow besmirched the reputation of New York City as a place to do honest business.
Image: Donald Trump (cropped). YouTube screen grab.
The bank, however, deflated those valuations. Real estate valuation, particularly commercial real estate, is not arithmetic where there is only one right answer. See Vince Conyer’s American Thinker article here. I’ve bought and sold rental properties and can say that property valuation is one of the least objective and clear-cut business activities I’ve ever engaged in.
According to the judge, in his September 2023 summary judgment on the first count, Trump, by submitting documents containing false or misleading information, created an atmosphere conducive to fraud (pg 18). Because the bank required annual submissions of financial disclosures covering many properties, not just the ones for which the loans were obtained, the judge treated each instance of submission for each property as a separate fraudulent act. The court also included documents submitted for licensing deals and other loans. Thus, he established a “pattern” of fraud.
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