Trump Accused Of Fraudulently Inflating Palos Verdes Club Value: Suit

PALOS VERDES, CA — The New York state attorney general is suing former President Donald Trump, alleging he used an illegal branding scheme to fraudulently inflate the value of his Rancho Palos Verdes golf club by nearly $50 million in 2013.

The 214-page suit accuses Trump, three of his adult children — Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric — and Trump Organization executives of pressuring appraisers to inflate the value of the property to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in 2014 to obtain an 11.5-acre conservation easement, which would result in a large tax break.

"The Trump Organization falsely inflated the value of this property — consisting of a residential development and a golf club — by inflating the value for a substantial number of potential lots for sale in the areas around the golf course and, starting in 2013 to 2020, applying an undisclosed 30% brand premium that inflated the value of the golf club," the suit states.

According to the suit, the former President and the Trump Organization intentionally created more than 200 false valuations of assets from 2011 to 2021, including the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles.

For the Rancho Palos Verdes golf club, the Trump Organization ignored an engineer's report assessing the costs of the development of the lot, which failed to account for cost savings of a nearly $1 million obligation that was avoided by not having to develop affordable housing units on the lot, according to the suit. This cut the value of the golf course by one-third of its value, the New York lawsuit alleges.

The Office of the Attorney General is seeking, among other things, to permanently bar Trump and his children from serving as officers or directors in any New York corporation or similar business entity and repay an estimated $250 million of financial benefits obtained through fraudulent practices.

“For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them. Donald Trump stands out as among the most egregious examples of this misconduct,” said Attorney General Letitia James. "Mr. Trump thought he could get away with the art of the steal, but today, that conduct ends. There are not two sets of laws for people in this country; we must hold former presidents to the same standards as everyday Americans."

Read more from The Mercury News: Donald Trump’s California golf course ensnared in New York lawsuit alleging fraud in land value inflation