Thursday, October 21, 2021

Trump Organization, under indictment, faces new probe by New York county -NYT


FILE PHOTO: A view of the putting green of the Trump National Golf Club Westchester where U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was scheduled to deliver remarks in Briarcliff Manor


Wed, October 20, 2021

(Reuters) - Donald Trump's family company, indicted in July after a Manhattan district attorney probe, is under scrutiny by another New York prosecutor for financial dealings at a golf course it owns, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The district attorney in Westchester County, a suburb north of New York City, has subpoenaed records from the Trump Organization property in recent months under a criminal investigation, the report said.

Also subpoenaed were records from Ossining, the town that sets property taxes on the opulent Trump National Golf Club Westchester, according to the New York Times.


Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah seems to be examining whether the company misrepresented the value of the private club to reduce its taxes, but it was unclear if Trump's own conduct was under scrutiny, the report said.

A spokesperson for Rocah's office declined to comment, as did Kerry Lawrence, a lawyer for Trump's golf club.

Trump's business has faced mounting accusations of financial misconduct since he took office, with the latest investigations threatening to undermine the Trump Organization's business relationships and complicate his political future as the Republican mulls a 2024 White House run.

The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty to tax fraud after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance indicted the company in July, following a three-year investigation.

New York Attorney General Letitia James in May joined Vance's probe, which Trump has referred to as a politically motivated "witch hunt." Vance, James, and Rocah are all Democrats.

(Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Richard Chang)


Report: Trump golf club under new criminal probe over taxes


Trump Investigation-Golf Course
FILE - In this June 7, 2016, file photo, a photographer is reflected in a golf cart at the the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Former President Donald Trump's company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times. The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester and the town that handles its taxes, said the Times, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.”
( Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

Wed, October 20, 202

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times.

The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester and the town of Ossining that handles the club's taxes, said the Times, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” The newspaper didn’t say why those people had requested anonymity.

The probe led by District Attorney Mimi E. Rocah, a Democrat, appears to focus in part on whether the former president’s company submitted misleading valuations on the golf course.

In a statement, the Trump Organization suggested the probe was politically motivated, noting that it had hammered out a compromise with the town over its long-running efforts to cut taxes in June, a deal signed off by a county judge.

“The suggestion that anything was inappropriate is completely false and incredibly irresponsible," the Trump statement said. "The witch hunt continues.”

The district attorney's office has not accused anyone at the company of wrongdoing and it was not immediately clear if the probe will ultimately lead to any charges. A spokesperson for the office, Jess Vecchiarelli, wouldn't confirm the probe to The Associated Press, stating only, “We have no comment.”

The probe adds to several legal challenges facing the former president and his company. In July, the Manhattan district attorney indicted the company and its longtime financial chief with allegedly failing to pay taxes on employee perks, like cars and apartments. Both the company and the finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, have pleaded not guilty.

The New York state attorney general's office, which joined in the Manhattan district attorney probe, has also launched its own investigation into Trump's finances. That civil investigation is looking in part into whether the Trump Organization may have misled tax officials in valuations of another of the company's Westchester County properties, its Seven Springs estate featuring a Georgian-style mansion set among 213-acres of bucolic countryside.

The Trump Organization has been fighting the town of Ossining for lower tax assessments for its Westchester golf course for years. The company once valued the golf club for tax purposes at about $1.4 million, later increasing its estimate to $6.5 million, while the town for years valued it at more than $15 million.

In June, a New York judge ruled on a compromise that would cut the assessment to $9.5 million for 2021. The compromise also cut assessments going back several years by about 30%, triggering refunds to the company of about $875,000 for overcharges on its back taxes.

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