A court document filed by New York attorney general Letitia James says Ivanka Trump leased a luxury apartment from her father's company on 'extraordinarily favorable terms' – with an option to buy it at a third of the value listed on company financial statements.
Ivanka had an option to purchase the Park Avenue apartment for $8.5 million, according to the court order seeking testimony filed by the AG's office.
But her father Donald Trump, on his Statement of Financial Condition over several years listed values of the apartment at between $20,820,000 and $25,000,000, according to the document.
The same document reveals that her brother, Eric Trump, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 500 times over six hours of testimony – amid a parallel criminal investigation.
They are among the allegations of accounting tricks and unusual financial arrangements spelled out in court documents filed by James' office seeking to compel testimony by the former president, Ivanka and Eric Trump in their civil investigation of Trump's real estate and hospitality empire.
James' office mentions the apartment in a filing that alleges the Trump Organization pumped up valuations when communicating with lenders, but provided low-ball estimates to tax authorities.
Ivanka Trump had an option to purchase a Park Avenue apartment leased to her by her father's company for $8.5 million, according to the court order seeking testimony filed by the AG's office. But the firm listed its value as high as $25 million in financial statements
Park Avenue Apartment with 'extraordinarily favorable terms'
The AG argues the president's daughter, who served as an unpaid White House aide when Trump was in office, should have testify.
'Given Ivanka Trump's involvement in these and other matters, her testimony plainly bears a reasonable relation to the matters under investigation by OAG and must be compelled,' according to the filing.
It states her 'knowledge' of the financial statements, and says Ivanka 'also has relevant information regarding the valuation of assets contained therein. In particular, she was able to ask for and access financial summaries and projections covering properties or businesses in the Trump Organization portfolio.'
According to a Trump Organization web site, the building is 'idyllically situated near Central Park, world-renowned restaurants, shopping and some of Manhattan’s most prestigious schools'
Ivanka Trump, pictured in 2018, got the lease on 'extraordinarily favorable terms,' according to the filing
In 2015, Ivanka got an option to purchase a larger penthouse unit at in the same building for $14 million
Ivanka paid 'a monthly rental rate that was a mere fraction per square foot of what other penthouse tenants paid in the building,' according to the filing.
She rented the apartment at Trump Park Avenue beginning in 2011, according to the filing.
The company's 2011 and 2012 financial statements were at 'approximately two and a half times as much as the option price, with no disclosure of the existence of the option.' In 2013, it was valued at $25 million – 'more than three times the option price, again, with no disclosure of the existence of the option.'
In 2015, Ivanka got an option to purchase a larger penthouse unit at in the same building for $14 million.
According to a Trump Organization web site, the building is 'idyllically situated near Central Park, world-renowned restaurants, shopping and some of Manhattan’s most prestigious schools, houses over 120 luxury condominiums in one of the Upper East Side’s most coveted locations.'
'Refitted with a world-class selection of Italian fixtures, polished hardwoods, and marble finishes, each detail of Trump Park Avenue is meticulously adorned with a sense of sophistication and classicism.'
The New York's attorney general is seeking a court order to force Donald Trump and his two oldest children to testify in their fraud case, stating that she has 'uncovered significant evidence' of financial misconduct.
James has since March 2019 been looking into the tax affairs of the Trump Organization, after former Trump confidante Michael Cohen shed light on its business practices.
James is probing at whether the Trump Organization inflated the value of its assets in a bid to claim tax relief.
James has already been able to obtain some information from Trump Organization officials, including from early participation of Trump family members.
But her office says the flow of key information has stopped.
The Trump Organization 'has not made anything approaching a complete production of documents for Mr. Trump,' according to the document.
Cabinets stocked with Trump's paper files – but no info handed over since July
Company general counsel Alan Garten 'testified that there were file cabinets at the Trump Organization containing Mr. Trump's files, that Mr. Trump had assistants who maintained files on his behalf, that he received and maintained hard copy documents, and that he used Post-It Notes to communicate with employees,' they wrote.
'Yet as of June 30, 2021 – more than 18 months after receiving the initial subpoena from OAG – the Trump Organization still had not searched for those documents,' they write.
The AG argues the Trump Organization 'has not made anything approaching a complete production of documents for Mr. Trump.'
'While Mr. Trump famously does not use email or a computer, at least according to reports, he regularly generated handwritten documents,' it says.
Trump to German bank: 'Hopefully, you will be impressed!'
Even brief missives by the former president could have evidentiary value.
The filing cites a November 2011 note that Trump wrote to Richard Byrne, the Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank Securities – the Trump Organization's primary lender.
Trump enclosed his financial statement with a note, which said: 'hopefully, you will be impressed!'
The note also 'touted the prospects of the Doral property, and enclosed a separate letter that 'establishes my brand value, which is not included in my net worth statement.'
James alleges that Trump added a 'brand premium' of 15-30 per cent on some properties that carried his name, despite saying in financial statements they didn't incorporate such value.
Metadata cited by the AG's office indicate it came from Trump's custodial files, but there has been no further production from those files since July – an 'abject failure.'
The Trump Organization called the civil probe 'baseless' and politically motivated.
Claimed Trump Tower penthouse was 30,000 square feet
James said that the former president claimed his Trump Tower penthouse was 30,000 square feet and worth $327 million, when in fact it was 11,000 square feet and worth a fraction of that.
He also inflated the value of his golf course in Scotland, and wrongly stated that members of his Westchester club were paying $150,000 to join.
The Trumps misrepresented the value to banks, insurance companies and the IRS, James said.
Letitia James on Tuesday announced she was seeking a subpoena to force Donald Trump and his two eldest children to testify
Eric Trump, far left, was forced to testify in October 2020. Allen Weisselberg (second right) testified in the fall of 2021. James now wants to force Don Jr (far right) and Ivanka to testify. They are all pictured in January 2017
'We are taking
