An accounting firm that has been providing services for the companies of Donald Trump’s family for years decided to end its link with the former US president’s business last week. The dismissal takes place amid investigations that investigate an alleged distortion of the value of the politician’s family properties in order to obtain financial benefits.
As pointed out by the attorney general of the state of New York, Letitia James, Mazars USA informed the Trump Organization on the 9th that it no longer considered the financial statements from June 2011 to June 2020 of the former president’s company to be more reliable. The firm also recommended that the group inform this classification to whoever receives the records.
Mazars noted that it did not conclude that the reports as a whole had “material discrepancies”, but claimed that its decision was made “based on the totality of the circumstances”. According to the firm, the conclusion was supported by a January document from the prosecution and by its own investigations.
Even if the reports were tampered with, the accounting firm, The New York Times reported, should not be held liable — because the same documents include a series of disclaimers, including acknowledgments that Trump’s accountants did not audit. nor have they authenticated their statements.
In a statement published on Monday (14), Letitia James, who is affiliated with the Democratic Party, commented on the decision. “Evidence continues to mount showing that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization used fraudulent and misleading financial statements to obtain economic benefits,” she wrote.
The prosecutor also defended the legitimacy of the request for the former president and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump to testify in the case, which they have been trying to avoid. In December, the Republican filed a lawsuit against Letitia, alleging that she violated his rights by carrying out an investigation with political objectives. Since then, both sides have been fighting a legal battle.
If forced to testify, Trump and his children will need to answer sworn questions.
Just last year, Letitia even announced her candidacy for governor of the state, weeks after she oversaw an investigation that found then-Chief Executive Andrew Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. She, however, reversed the decision and announced that she would not run in the election.
In all, according to the investigation into the Trump family’s business, six properties had distorted values, including golf clubs in Aberdeen, Scotland, and Westchester, near New York. Also included in the investigation are a mansion in the same county as Westchester, buildings on Wall Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan, as well as a triplex in Trump Tower.
The suspicion is that property values ​​have been altered to obtain bank loans or reduce taxes to be paid. According to the prosecutor, the distorted figures were presented to creditors, insurance companies and the IRS. The main source of information supporting the accusation is precisely the annual statements of financial condition of those involved.
In the case of the apartment in Trump Tower, the former president would have stated that the triplex was 2,787 square meters, estimating it at US$ 327 million. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the apartment was just over 1,000 square meters. A longtime Trump chief financial officer later acknowledged to investigators that the company had overvalued the apartment.
Neither the former president nor his children have been charged in the criminal sphere, as the Prosecutor’s investigation is civil. Still, Letitia can sue Donald Trump and his company for financial penalties.
On another front of investigations – this one, however, criminal – the Manhattan Public Prosecutor’s Office, led by Alvin Bragg, has also been counting on the cooperation of Mazars, and Trump’s main accountant has already testified before the jury.
The defense of Donald Jr. and Ivanka, on the other hand, alleges violation of constitutional rights, since the two investigations find similar facts.
