The New York Attorney General’s Office yesterday sued the Trump Organization, President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump and two lawyers who have worked with the Trump Organization, asking a New York County Supreme Court judge to compel the defendants to comply with subpoenas, the National Law Journal reported. Attorney General Letitia James is investigating “whether the Trump Organization and Donald J. Trump … improperly inflated the value of Mr. Trump’s assets on annual financial statements in order to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits,” according to court documents. Land-use attorney Charles Martabano, tax attorney Sheri Dillon and Dillon’s firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius are also named as defendants in the suit. Martabano and Dillon each worked on matters related to Seven Springs, a Westchester County estate. One focus of the investigation is whether the Trump Organization and its agents improperly inflated the value of Seven Springs, according to court documents. “Valuations of Seven Springs were used to claim an apparent $21.1 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement on the property in tax year 2015, and in submissions to financial institutions as a component of Mr. Trump’s net worth,” wrote Matthew Colangelo, chief counsel for federal initiatives in the AG’s office. A number of other Trump properties, including Trump National Golf Club – Los Angeles, Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago and the Manhattan office tower at 40 Wall Street are also part of the investigation, according to court filings.
