Manhattan DA is investigating the Trump Organization-owned 40 Wall Street for changing its valuation from $527 million to just $16.7 million a few months later Investigators are reportedly probing swings in valuations of properties owned by the Trump Organization
In 2012 it valued 40 Wall Street at $527 million, according to the Washington Post, but months later said it was worth only $16.7 million
The scrutiny follows the indictment this summer of the company and its chief financial officer on charges of running a scheme to evade taxes The Manhattan district attorney is investigating how the Trump Organization gave widely differing valuations for a number of its properties, it emerged on Monday.
Prosecutors appear to be examining whether the company broke the law by giving low values in tax assessments, while using high ones to generate tax breaks or bolster loan applications, according to the Washington Post.
In particular they are looking at 40 Wall Street, which in June 2012 was described by the Trump Organization as worth $527 million in a list of assets - making it among the most valuable in New York.
But months later the company told tax officials it was worth only $16.7 million, according to city records.
The scrutiny follows the indictment this summer of the company and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who have been charged with a scheme to evade taxes.
Weisselberg and the company deny wrongdoing and are contesting the charges.
The company says the investigation is a witch hunt and a waste of resources while New York is coping with surging crime.
In recent weeks, it was reported that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has convened a new special grand jury to hear evidence against the company.
Along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, it has been investigating whether Trump valued his holdings one way when seeking loans and a different way when preparing taxes - allegations raised by Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen in congressional testimony.
'It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed amongst the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes,' Cohen said in 2019.
The New York Times also reported last month that Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah had launched a probe into whether the Trump Organization misled officials to secure tax cuts for a golf course.
Among other properties reportedly under investigation are the former president's California golf club - allegedly valued at $900,000 or $25 million depending on the audience - and an estate in suburban New York, valued at $56 million through to $291 million, according to the Washington Post.
'This is way, way beyond anything that's believable,' Norm Miller, professor of real estate finance at the University of San Diego, told the newspaper. 'I've never seen anything with a gap that extreme.'
The 72-story skyscraper at 40 Wall Street was among Trump's proudest acquisitions, but Reuters last month reported that problem that pre-dated the pandemic were getting worse.
After the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, tenants began exploring whether they could abandon their leases.
And occupancy was 84% in March 2021, well below the average of about 89% for that downtown New York office market, according to Mike Brotschol, managing director of KBRA Analytics LLC.
The rents Trump has been able to charge are lower, too between $38 and $42 per square foot in a market where the average runs closer to $50, he said.
The property's financials have tumbled into risky territory, the reports say.
Trump took out a $160 million loan in 2015 to refinance 40 Wall Street personally guaranteeing $26 million. Last year, the building was placed on an industry watchlist for commercial mortgage-backed securities at risk of defaulting, according to reports by KBRA and Trepp, which also monitors real-estate loans.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10230275/Manhattan-DA-investigating-Trump-Organization-widely-varying-valuations-properties.html