The finding strengthens control over Trump’s longtime appraiser and raises questions about the accuracy of his work as New York Attorney General Leticia James investigates Trump’s business.
Judge Arthur Engoren made the finding as part of James’ efforts to force Cushman & Wakefield, the appraiser, to respond to his subpoenas. The subpoenas were issued in September 2021 and February 2022 as part of a civil investigation by the Trump Organization’s attorney general for finances. Earlier this month, the chief prosecutor’s office said its investigation had expanded to include Cushman and whether she had “engaged in fraudulent or misleading assessments.”
In a three-page warrant, the judge said after reviewing numerous documents in private that he found that they showed that Cushman and Wakefield “were inconsistent in adhering to their internal quality control practices when conducting assessments on behalf of the Trump Organization.” Accordingly, it is within OAG’s remit to investigate C&W’s assessments to determine whether C&W has properly and accurately disclosed to regulators and other government bodies whether internal quality control has been complied with. “
The judge rejected Kushman’s request to cancel the summons and ordered him to comply in full by May 27.
A Cushman representative could not be found immediately to comment.
Earlier, a spokesman said: “Any allegation that Cushman & Wakefield did not respond in good faith to the Attorney General’s investigation is fundamentally incorrect” and “the Attorney General’s letters do not accurately reflect Cushman & Wakefield’s responses to previous subpoenas and inquiries.” behind our evaluators and our work. “
James’ office had previously claimed that there were many inaccuracies in the company’s financial statements. The findings are part of the Trump Organization’s ongoing civil investigation and whether it has defrauded borrowers, creditors and tax authorities who relied on those statements.
Cushman was the Trump Organization’s chief appraiser, helping her evaluate several properties, including the family complex known as Seven Springs, the Trump National Golf Club of Los Angeles and 40 Wall Street, according to court documents. Civil lawsuits are looking for Cushman’s working papers related to these properties and others, information about payments to the Trump Organization and its decision to suspend work for Trump in January 2021. Authorities are also looking for information about a Cushman appraiser who went to work. for the Trump organization.
Cushman regularly provides the Trump Organization with real estate data that, according to the Attorney General’s office, was ultimately used in the preparation of the financial statements. There have been “hundreds” of cases where these figures, according to the Attorney General’s office, have been cited “in support of the overestimations” included in Trump’s financial statements.
Attorneys for the Attorney General’s Office said Cushman had not complied with the summons sent in February, and recently stopped presenting documents related to the September summons. In addition, the attorney general’s office said Cushman had instructed four of his staff not to answer questions during testimony, citing privileges.
The Attorney General’s Office notes that Cushman’s estimates for 40 Wall Street, which are included in two different commercial mortgage securities, differ in key ways from earlier estimates. The rest of the information about these loans has been edited in the court file.
Investigators said they wanted to investigate what Trump asked, “whether the appraisers were motivated by the client in any way, and whether Cushman’s significant business with the Trump Organization in any way influenced the assessments made or other information related to the assessment provided. or compromises Cushman’s objectivity. “
In a statement Thursday, the company disagreed with Engoron’s decision and said it was evaluating its next steps.
“We generally reject the Court’s suggestion that our appraisers used inconsistent internal quality control practices that had some impact on the appraised values of The Trump Organization’s assets,” a Cushman spokesman said.
“In the last two years, we have cooperated in good faith in the investigation of the Prosecutor General. We responded to four subpoenas for documents, eight subpoenas for testimony and provided tens of thousands of documents at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. , we believe that the latest request from the Court, which seeks information about our work with hundreds of clients who have nothing to do with the Trump Organization, is unreasonable and too widespread. “
This story has been updated with commentary by Cushman & Wakefield.
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