Surprised I haven’t seen this story hit DK yet. UK’s The Telegraph has a devastating article on Trump today.
The billionaire approved a $50 million investment in a company – only for the deal to be rewritten several weeks later as a ‘loan’.
Experts say that the effect of this move was to skirt vast tax liabilities, and court papers seen by the Telegraph allege that the deal amounted to fraud.
The newspaper got their hands on documents signed by Trump.
The Telegraph has obtained copies of the letters Mr Trump signed for both the original version, and the new form as a “loan”. He and his lawyers were sent copies of the relevant paperwork, including the final loan agreement.
Alan Garten, Mr Trump’s lawyer, claimed that the billionaire “had nothing to do with that transaction” and by signing the letters was simply acknowledging the deal as a “limited partner”.
“He was not signing off on the deal,” he insisted.
Mr Trump’s lawyer said the tax implications of the deal were not relevant to Mr Trump because he was not a “party” to the transaction. “Our interests are protecting our rights,” he said.
What’s at stake here?
Former employees of Bayrock have alleged in a case against the company that the deal was intended to fraudulently evade some $20 million in tax through a disguised sale of partnership interests.
They also claim the participants mislabeled the sale as a loan in order to avoid paying a further estimated $80 million taxes on the projected profits from the real estate.
The article covers the timeline and details very well. I am certain this is just the first of many frauds he has been involved in that will see the light of day now that he is running for President (which is why I could never understand why he would run in the first place and risk this).