Former United States President Donald Trump's family business is facing a criminal investigation as a prosecutor's office is looking into the Republican businessman's golf course's records for alleged false valuation of properties.
The district attorney's office in suburban Westchester County, N.Y. has, in recent months, issued subpoenas to gain access to the Trump National Golf Club Westchester course's records. Additionally, officials are looking into the town of Ossining, which is responsible for setting property taxes on the course.
Trump's Criminal Investigation
It was not revealed how extensive the criminal investigation into the golf course and town were. However, Mimi E. Rocah, the district attorney, was focused on whether or not the Trump Organization misled local officials about the value of properties on the golf course to reduce taxes it paid.
Democrat Rocah has not named any individual at the company of any wrongdoing as of yet, and it remained unclear whether or not the investigation included examining Trump's actions. On Wednesday, the Trump Organization released a statement saying that any accusations were false. However, Kerry A. Lawrence, a lawyer for the club, declined to comment regarding the issue, the New York Times reported.
Investigators are seeking to analyze the monetary value that Trump placed on the property in the public federal disclosure forms. They will compare them to the much lower value that was previously negotiated with the town of Ossining, said one source familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson for Rocah's office did not provide any comments regarding the probe into the Trump business. The town's board approved a settlement with Trump National Golf Club LLC in July in "correcting and reducing" the assessed value of the company's Westchester golf club for five years starting from 2016.
The final assessed values for the club ranged from $9.75 million to $11 million, and the town had previously assessed the value to be as high as $15.8 million in 2018 and 2019. In a 2021 financial disclosure form, Trump listed the value of his golf club property at more than $50 million while also claiming that it brought revenue of about $6.3 million, CNN reported.
False Valuation of Property
During an interview in 2018, Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg said that Trump claimed a value for tax purposes that was less than a tenth of what local officials believed it to be. After the Republican businessman became the president of the United States, the golf club continued its pattern of suing Ossining over its property tax assessments.
In the discussions, Levenberg argued that it was very difficult for the town and its officials to deal with a lawsuit coming from the business organization of a sitting U.S. president. She said that it was "uncomfortable at best," but Levenberg did not comment on the recent probe by the district attorney.
"The suggestion that anything was inappropriate is completely false and incredibly irresponsible," Kimberly Benza, a Trump organization spokeswoman, said in response over email. The spokeswoman argued that Trump and Ossining officials compromised on the value of the property last July, NPR reported.
