Former President Trump, his business and several top executives \u2014 including his adult sons \u2014 used \u201cmyriad deceptive schemes\u201d to falsely inflate his net worth by billions, the New York attorney general\u2019s office argued Friday in court filings ahead of closing remarks in his fraud trial next week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe conclusion that defendants intended to defraud when preparing and certifying Trump\u2019s (statements of financial condition) is inescapable,\u201d reads the state\u2019s post-trial brief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s statements of financial condition \u2014 documents that detail the value of the Trump Organization\u2019s various assets \u2014 are at the heart of the attorney general\u2019s case. The financial statements were sent to banks and insurers to secure loans and deals, which the state purports is evidence of fraud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
New York Attorney General Letitia James <\/a>(D) asked the judge to force Trump to pay nearly $370 million as a penalty and to issue a lifetime ban on the former president and two top executives from doing real estate business in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In their post-trial brief, Trump\u2019s counsel repeated claims they made at trial \u2014 that banks wanted to work with the Trump Organization, did their due diligence and found no fraud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cErrors or misstatements happen all the time in accounting, if there are no indicia of fraud such as concealment, forgery, or deceit, then there is no basis to determine that these SFCs are fraudulent, and any misstatements are just accidental errors,\u201d the defense brief states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump reiterated those talking points in a Truth Social post later Friday, writing that there are \u201cNo Victims, No Crime, Great Financial Statements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLetitia James is doing this to me,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. <\/a>and Eric Trump, who are also defendants in the case, urged the judge to dismiss the case against them. They claimed the attorney general failed to show they had \u201canything more than a peripheral knowledge or involvement in the creation, preparation or use\u201d of their father\u2019s financial statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe record evidence and testimony adduced at trial conclusively establishes that the SFCs were prepared, in their entirety, by others at the company working in conjunction with the company\u2019s long time outside accountants,\u201d their lawyer, Clifford Robert, wrote in their joint post-trial brief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both sons distanced themselves from the financial statements in testimony during the trial, pointing the finger at the accountants and other executives who they said handled the documents more closely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The attorney general\u2019s office is seeking a five-year ban on the sons\u2019 participation in the New York real estate industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n