Ahead of the March 25 deadline for former President Donald Trump to pay his New York City fraud fine, his son Donald Trump Jr. claimed that people were changing the values of Trump properties based on convenience.
New York judge Arthur Engron found that Trump and some of his business associates improperly inflated the value of their assets in order to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers. In February, a judge ordered the former president to pay nearly $355 million in fines plus interest for the fraud. With that, payouts exceeded $464 million. He was banned from holding a senior role in any New York business for three years. Trump has always denied any wrongdoing.
In order to appeal his civil fraud conviction, the former president must post a $464 million bond, which he has admitted he is having trouble raising funds for. If he can’t raise the money by Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James could begin seizing his assets. This has led people to speculate about the true value of his properties, such as Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower.
Donald Trump Jr. came to his father’s defense during an interview with NewsMax’s Eric Bowling on Thursday.
“If it’s worth 18 million and it’s good for a soundbite right now, it’s worth 18 million, if it’s worth hundreds of millions the next day for some other purpose, it’s worth hundreds of millions and That’s what’s happening,” he said.
He added that it’s not going to end with “trying to go after Donald Trump” and that eventually, others may have their assets seized.
Donald Trump Jr. added: “They’re willing to seize your assets, people screaming about fascism are behaving horribly like fascists.”
Newsweek Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung emailed Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. for comment.
Donald Trump Jr. kills irony by complaining about Trump’s changing property values based on other people’s convenience pic.twitter.com/B5gDV1R6Pm
— Aaron Roper (@atrupar) March 22, 2024
As Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort residence, is not for sale — and the Trump family has never expressed a desire to put it on the market — it is difficult to determine its value. In 2017, Forbes Trump Tower is worth $371 million.
According to Sportico, which cited the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump International Golf Links Scotland is his second most profitable course, bringing in 52 for the 2024 Republican presidential candidate between January 2022 and April 2023. Earn million dollars.
His course in Jupiter, Florida, is his fourth-highest-grossing course, earning the former president $39.4 million over the period.
Newsweek Sportico could not immediately confirm the data and reached out to a Trump representative by email for comment on this story.
According to Trump’s 2023 Office of Government Ethics certified financial disclosures, obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Trump has loans on multiple properties that could affect their value. The assets listed by the disclosures total at least $200 million.
One is the mortgage on Trump Tower, paid off in 2012, which is more than $50 million. Another, for the private estate Seven Springs, was spent in 2000. It is valued between $5 million and $25 million.
40 Wall Street also has more than $50 million in mortgages. James said the properties had “fraudulent” and “misleading” values and could be seized.
If the properties are not confiscated, there is speculation that the former president may have to sell some of his real estate empire to pay the fine.
Credit : www.newsweek.com
