Trump Cost Banks $168M Inflating his Company's Value

A few days ago, Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, claimed "the only thing Trump did wrong was to make banks money." Trump's enablers and his lawyers have for months claimed that there were no victims. They've been lying all along.

This morning, Donald Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, was overheard on the phone with her client, Donald Trump, while walking through the NY courthouse. She would come to regret that promise.

Today was after all the claim she, her co-council and everyone being sued by Letitia James would watch their bogus claims that there were no victims in this N.Y. State fraud trial. The plantiff NY State lawyers vaporized that lie today. The state called to the stand an expert witness who testified that Trump Organization banks and lenders were defrauded out of $168 million because the former president misrepresented his corporation's worth.

No wonder Judge Engoron felt compelled to find Trump and his fellow defendants guilty of fraud and wanted to shutter Trump Org. and its long list of Limited Liability Corporations.  

Michiel McCarty's estimate of $168 million in damages to the banks and lenders that did business with Donald Trump during - just one nine year period. According to ABC News, according to the report, McCarty's estimate was based on interest collected between 2014 and 2023 on loans linked to Trump properties in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Miami, and New York.

The claim there were no victims in the N.Y. State Trump fraud trial was vaporized today as an expert witness for the prosecution testified that Trump Organization lenders were defrauded out of $168 million because the former president misrepresented his corporation's worth.

No wonder Judge Engoron felt compelled to find Trump and his fellow defendents guilty of fraud and wanted to shutter Trump Org. and its long list of Limited Liability Corporations.  

Michiel McCarty provided the $168 million estimated damages to the banks that did business with Donald Trump. According to ABC News, according to the report, McCarty's estimate was based on interest collected between 2014 and 2023 on loans linked to Trump properties in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Miami, and New York.

You're "Johnny on the spot" if you realize the banks can sue Trump for the $168 million, even if Trump has to pay the State of New York $500M or $1B.

McCarty's testimony was heard just hours before Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., was slated to take the stand.

During an hour-long cross-examination of McCarty, Trump attorney Jesus Suarez tried to cast doubt on the estimate by highlighting the institutions McCarty did not contact —including Deutsche Bank and the Trump Organization — and his connection to the prosecutor who called him to the stand.

"Who created the universe of documents for you to review?" Suarez asked. "It was the New York attorney general, right?"

Trump attorney Chris Kise argued that the state never proved the dollars lost were "ill-gotten gains."

"They are not ill-gotten gains if the bank does not testify it would have done it differently," said Kise, referencing previous testimony from a Deutsche Bank executive. The argument is childish. If you didn't catch the fraud and realize you were defrauded, it's not a fraud.

Just because the deception used to deprive the banks of the $168M estimated lost interest revenue was so well executed, the crime shouldn't count. It's an absurd argument.

It is not a crime if the banks didn't know they were defrauded.

Judge Arthur Engoron said it best today: "I decided these were ill-gotten."

The Trump attorneys are digging a deeper hole for Mr. Trump, The Trump Org. and the defendants.  They didn't knock it out of the park. So far, a cheap shyster lawyer from Florida who doesn't know NY law. And, a pretty mall attorney who's already been sanctioned by a judge to teh tune of $1M.