FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial, in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., October 25, 2023. Dave Sanders/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
New York state lawyers argue that those methods enabled him to win favorable financing terms by pumping up the value of his golf courses, apartment towers and other assets at a time when many lenders refused to do business with him. They say such activity earned him $100 million and exaggerated his wealth by $2 billion. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
But it could undercut Trump's image, cultivated over decades, as a glamorous billionaire who shuttles between elegant resorts and premium golf courses that bear his name. Evidence introduced at trial so far has revealed that company officials, including Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr, were involved in efforts to manipulate the assessed value of trophy properties like the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.