The latest blow to Trump’s reputation came in a court in New York, when the judge ruled that Trump fraudulently overvalued his properties in order to get bank loans. Of course, his base won’t care.
I have a personal story that supports the judgement. Last fall, I drove with my partner to Saratoga Springs, New York, to visit a kayak maker. As we were driving up the Taconic State Parkway, we passed a sign that said “Donald J. Trump State Park.” I had never heard of such a park, so I googled and found a Wikipedia entry that explained.
Trump purchased the property in 1998 with plans to build a $10 million private golf course. Totalling $2.5 million, it was purchased in two sections: Indian Hill for $1.75 million and French Hill for $750,000.[1]The land contained significant wetlands and development faced strict environmental restrictions and permitting requirements.[2]He donated it in 2006[3][4] after he was unable to gain town approvals to develop the property.[2] At that time Trump claimed the parcel was worth $100 million.[1] He used the donation as a tax write-off.[5] The donation was praised by governor George Pataki. Trump said, “I hope that these 436 acres of property will turn into one of the most beautiful parks anywhere in the world.”[1]
The park is now abandoned. Trump paid $2.5 million for the land, which was not suitable for development. He claimed the land was worth $100 million and used that amount to reduce his taxes. Nice increase in value on land that that could not be developed.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Trump is a big, fat fraud, who LIES, LIES, LIES! He’s ALWAYS done this.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes. And at this point, everyone with a functioning brain should be able to recognize how Mary McCarthy’s famous quote about Lillian Hellman applies perfectly to Trump, “every word… is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the’.”
LikeLike
Why.
Is.
This.
Sleazebag.
Criminal.
Traitor.
to.
His.
Country.
Still.
Walking.
around.
Free?!?!!?!?!?!?!
Because we have a Justice system for ordinary people and a Just Us system for the rich.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And because millions of our neighbors and fellow “citizens” think toxic masculinity is the same thing as patriotism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, though he does not embody what my father taught me masculinity was all about. There is one thing that matters to Trump, and that is Trump.
LikeLike
Yes. I should have phrased it as “toxic pseudo masculinity”.
LikeLike
The sad fact is that the IRS rarely goes after the big fish like Trump because they have lawyers and accountants to defend them, even though billionaires have the most loopholes in which they can exploit in the tax code. The GOP cuts the IRS budget when it gets in power to hobble its ability to audit the wealthy. People makes less than $100,000 are more likely to be audited than most of these billionaires.
LikeLike
If it was a tax write-off at such an incredibly inflated value, then his state tax filings would have been fraudulent too, not just his federal taxes. Does anyone know if NY included this, too, in their current lawsuit against him? If not, maybe they didn’t know about it & should be contacted about this ASAP.
LikeLike
YES
LikeLike
Trump is beyond all doubt an exceptionally low character person. But no lender blindly accepts the value of real estate that a loan applicant provides. Loans of the size that Trump received get detailed scrutiny, and the loan applicant pays the costs for appraisals. Trump clearly inflated asset values on his balance sheets given to lenders, but they weren’t harmed by that, as the judge presiding over the case stipulated. It’s the same for property tax assessments; those are performed by public officials who don’t rely on what the owners claim.
LikeLike
Deutsche Bank handled matters differently for Trump than what you described. See: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/trump-fraud-trial/bank-wouldnt-extend-trump-credit-to-buy-buffalo-bills-exec-says-103904822?id=103642561
Oct 11, 9:39 AM EDT
Trump used private banking to secure $300M in loans, per AG
While the Trump Organization’s relationship with Deutsche Bank goes back 30 years, the attorney general alleges in her complaint that in 2011, Trump began doing business with the private wealth managers at the bank, rather than bankers who specialized in commercial real estate.
“In essence, rather than obtain credit facilities through the wing of Deutsche Bank with an expertise in commercial real estate, Mr. Trump began to seek funds from a wing of Deutsche Bank focused on servicing ultrawealthy clients,” the attorney general’s complaint said. “Hence, Mr. Trump’s personal guaranty, and his representations regarding his finances that backed up that guaranty, featured prominently in Mr. Trump’s loan transactions through the [private wealth management] wing of Deutsche Bank.”
During the attorney general’s investigation, Deutsche Bank credit risk executive Nicholas Haigh told investigators that he “may not have authorized” Trump’s loans if he was aware of the inflated values in Trump’s financial statements, according to a letter the state submitted to the court.
LikeLike
Almost four years ago I worked on a large contract audit for a big name bank in the southeast. One of my co-workers was a retired federal bank examiner who told me that several years prior to that project he had analyzed the Trump organization’s loans with American banks. He told me that not long after his analysis was done, Trump was effectively banished by American banks because the financial information he provided was questionable. In particular, the Trump financial statements had been audited by a very small, rinky-dink CPA firm that would not have had the stature to refuse to certify Trump’s financial statements. Very similar to the Bernie Madoff scheme, where a $50+ billion investment fund was audited by a CPA firm with just a few people on staff – in other words, a suspect, likely worthless audit.
Deutsche Bank is a huge, very sophisticated organization. If they got suckered by Trump, heads should have rolled there. Trump very likely committed bank fraud many times, but that could also be said of thousands of other real estate borrowers. No lender has claimed to have lost money because of Trump’s inflated asset values. The judicial system will need to sort out any civil or criminal liabilities that might be imposed on him.
LikeLike
Or Deutsche took care of Donnie because it was doing a favor for Vladimir, whose cronies had enormous deposits in that bank.
LikeLike
Bob Shepherd
Bingo again .
LikeLike
an exceptionally low character person
Abysmal. He is the embodiment of ALL of the seven deadly sins. So strange that the evangelicals love him.
LikeLike
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trumpinc/episodes/trump-inc-trump-deutsche-bank-its-complicated
LikeLike