Donald Trump civil fraud trial, questioned the worth of Mar-a-Lago

• The worth of Mar-a-Lago, a property often described by Donald Trump as the “Mona Lisa.” 
• The valuation range of Mar-a-Lago is $18 million.
• Mr Trump valued Mar-a-Lago at between $426.5 million and $612 million.

The worth of Mar-a-Lago, a property often described by Donald Trump as the “Mona Lisa,” is under intense scrutiny in a civil fraud trial threatening his family business.

The valuation ranges from a tax assessment of $18 million to a courtroom witness suggesting a value exceeding $1 billion.

Over the 10-week trial in New York, the prosecution and defense have engaged in a heated debate over the legitimate valuation of Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida and the blurred line between real estate assessments and potential fraud.

Mr.Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization are accused of bloating the value of assets – this also includes properties such as Trump Tower and various golf resorts – to the tune of $2bn so they could get better deals on interest rates for loans.

New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that favorable rates, known as “friendly rates,” provided to Donald Trump’s businesses resulted in savings exceeding $150 million over a decade. As part of legal action, James aims to prohibit Trump from conducting business in the state.

The trial is now coming to a close, and before it even started, Judge Arthur Engoron, a Democrat, ruled the financial documents at the core of these allegations “clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business”.

“That is a fantasy world, not the real world,” he concluded, finding them liable for fraud.

Once again, it was the specific allegation he inflated the worth of Mar-a-Lago that seemed to offend him most: “They claimed that Mar-a-Lago was worth only $18,000,000 when it was worth 50 to 100 times that amount”.

What did Trump say it was worth on financial documents?

Before the trial, Judge Engoron highlighted that the Palm Beach County Assessor appraised Mar-a-Lago’s market value for tax purposes, estimating it to be between $18 million and $27.6 million.

In contrast, Mr. Trump valued Mar-a-Lago at between $426.5 million and $612 million over the same decade, “an overvaluation of at least 2,300%, compared to the assessor’s appraisal,” the judge wrote.

The real estate agent claims that the tax assessor value is typically lower than what a property could be sold for, so it’s not a like-for-like comparison.

The New York attorney general contends that the Trump business calculated higher values for Mar-a-Lago by using the price-per-acre of “comparable” properties, but these comparisons involved lands without deed restrictions.

The attorney general asserts that this constitutes fraud, alleging that the Trump Organization was aware of Mar-a-Lago’s deed restrictions but disregarded them when determining values, treating it as if it were solely a private residence.

Also Read

Donald Trump Jr hails genius father in New York fraud trial

Donald Trump Jr hails genius father in New York fraud trial. The...