'Financial Fraud' Trump, Ivanka, and Others Sued in New York State... Will 350 Billion KRW Be Recovered?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is considering running in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, has been sued by the state of New York over allegations of financial fraud.

The lawsuit seeks to recover $250 million (approximately 349 billion KRW) in ill-gotten gains and to ban the Trump family from conducting business in New York. Given that a prosecutor’s investigation is also underway, attention is focused on whether this will affect Trump’s bid for re-election.

On the 21st (local time), according to CNN and others, Letitia James, New York State Attorney General and Chief Legal Officer, filed a complaint of over 200 pages at the Manhattan trial court, accusing former President Trump and his three adult children?Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump?of engaging in financial fraud for more than 10 years. The defendants also include the Trump Organization, its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Allen Weisselberg, and another executive Jeffrey McConney.

The complaint comes after a two-year investigation by New York into allegations of financial, tax, and insurance fraud by former President Trump. New York claims that the Trump family committed fraud and made false statements to mislead financial institutions and tax authorities about the value of assets such as real estate held between 2011 and 2021. Through this, they allegedly gained unfair profits.

Attorney General James stated that Trump and others manipulated asset values to secure favorable loan and insurance contracts and reduce taxes. James said, "Trump unjustly enriched himself and inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to deceive the legal system," adding, "The scale of the grossly inflated asset values is unbelievable, and it applied to most of the real estate holdings."

Accordingly, New York has requested the court to order the recovery of economic benefits obtained through Trump’s financial fraud. The amount sought for recovery is at least $250 million. Additionally, they seek a permanent ban on Trump and his adult children holding senior positions in New York-based companies, a five-year ban on Trump and the Trump Organization acquiring commercial real estate in New York, and a permanent ban on the Trump-owned companies involved in the lawsuit from conducting business in New York.

James criticized, "For too long, the powerful and wealthy in this country have acted as if laws do not apply to them. Donald Trump stands out as one of the worst examples of such illegal behavior."

Following New York’s announcement, former President Trump posted on his social media platform 'Truth Social,' calling it "another witch hunt by the racist Letitia James." He highlighted that, unlike himself?a white male Republican?James is a Black woman affiliated with the Democratic Party. Trump also claimed that James filed the lawsuit recklessly in an attempt to secure re-election as Attorney General.

Foreign media have assessed that "another legal issue has been added to the challenges facing former President Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election." Besides the financial fraud allegations, Trump is also under investigation for unauthorized removal of classified documents after leaving office, attempts to overturn the Georgia election results, and involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.