Tripling value of Trump’s NYC penthouse was ‘minor’ mistake, ex-CFO testifies at civil fraud trialBy Priscilla DeGregory
Published Oct. 10, 2023
Exaggerating the size of Donald Trump’s Manhattan penthouse on financial documents amounted to just a minor mistake, his longtime finance chief testified Tuesday — waving off one of the key claims in the New York attorney general’s fraud case against the ex-president.
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg acknowledged that a 1994 document listed the Trump Tower triplex at its true size of 10,996 square feet — rather than the bloated 30,000 square feet that Trump, 77, allegedly falsely claimed for years on financial statements.
But Weisselberg said the misstated value of the apartment was “de minimis” — a Latin term frequently used in law to mean that something is too trivial to warrant consideration.
“I never even thought about the apartment,” Weisselberg testified in Manhattan Supreme Court during trial over New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million fraud lawsuit against Trump.
“It was not something that was that important to me when looking at a $6 billion, $5 billion net worth,” Weisselberg noted.
James claims in her case that overstating the size of the pad added between $100 million and $200 million to its value.
The allegation is one example of what the AG claims was a decade-long pattern of pumping up the value of Trump assets on yearly Statements of Financial Condition in order for the 45th president to get a leg up on loan and insurance terms — and to climb Forbes’ list of billionaires.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ex-trump-org-exec-downplays-key-fraud-claim-against-ex-president/
