Trump dismisses allegations from the New York attorney general that he overstated his wealth by $2 billion
Former President Donald Trump routinely overstated his net worth -- sometimes by more than $2 billion -- during years when the actual values of his real estate holdings were far less than he claimed, according to a court filing Wednesday by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The attorney general's office included the numbers in a motion for summary judgement that asks the court to resolve a civil fraud claim before the AG's $250 million civil suit against Trump goes to trial.
The former president, meanwhile, called his real estate portfolio "the Mona Lisa of properties" during an April deposition in the suit, according to a transcript of the deposition that was made public Wednesday.
"We have properties that make money, but you can sell for many, many times because of the quality of the property, like a Turnberry in Scotland," Trump said, according to the transcript. "I could sell that. That's like selling a painting. A painting on a wall that sells for $250 million and doesn't make income. It just sits on a wall, but it sells for numbers."
Unlike his first deposition with James, during which Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination hundreds of times, the former president in the April deposition answered questions for hours about his real estate holdings, which he suggested are worth far more than what appeared on property valuations.
James last year brought a $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his children and his company that accuses them of "grossly" inflating the former president's net worth by billions of dollars and cheating lenders and others with false and misleading financial statements.
In 2014, Trump claimed on his statements of financial condition to be holding $6.7 billion in assets -- but the attorney general's office said in Wednesday's filing that figure overstated Trump's actual net worth that year by more than $2.2 billion.
The trial is scheduled to begin in October.