Donald Trump Jr. And Eric Trump Deny Involvement With Fraudulent Statements In Testimony—Though Evidence Suggests Otherwise

Forbes Business Breaking Donald Trump Jr. And Eric Trump Deny Involvement With Fraudulent Statements In Testimony—Though Evidence Suggests Otherwise Alison Durkee Forbes Staff Following Click to save this article. You’ll be asked to sign into your Forbes account.

Nov 2, 2023, 02:07pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Updated Nov 2, 2023, 02:22pm EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Former President Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified Thursday in the ongoing trial over whether the ex-president, his sons and their company fraudulently misstated the value of their assets, distancing themselves from the financial statements at the heart of the trial—even as Eric Trump was presented with evidence suggesting he was more involved than he let on. Eric Trump steps out for a lunch break during his testimony at former President Donald Trump’s civil .

. . [+] fraud trial on November 2 in New York City.

Getty Images Key Facts The New York Attorney General is suing the former president, his sons, other business associates and the Trump Organization for allegedly fraudulently misstating the value of their assets on statements of financial condition, which were prepared for financial institutions, in order to obtain more favorable business deals and reflect an inflated net worth for former President Donald Trump. Donald Trump Jr. claimed in testimony Wednesday and Thursday he had no involvement with those statements—even though he signed off on some of them himself— responding when the judge asked him Thursday if he had anything to do with the documents, “No I did not, your honor.

” Donald Trump Jr. , who assumed control of the trust after his father ascended to the presidency, testified he played no role in preparing them or reviewing the documents he signed, claiming he would consult with accountants who had a better understanding of the statements, and “if they assured me in their expert opinion that these things were fine, I would have been fine with that and would have signed accordingly. ” Eric Trump similarly testified Thursday, “People ask me questions all the time, but I never worked on the statements of financial condition,” claiming he had no knowledge of the documents until the attorney general’s case came about.

But prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Eric Trump did know about them, including emails from Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney asking for help as he prepared the statement of financial condition, one of which attached a spreadsheet showing how a property was valued the year before. Eric Trump acknowledged receiving the emails but continued to claim he “did not work on the statements of financial condition,” saying he was aware the company had financial statements in general while trying to distance himself from the net-worth documents in particular. What To Watch For Eric Trump’s testimony in the trial could continue through Friday, before his father takes the stand on Monday in the trial.

His sister Ivanka Trump is scheduled to testify on Wednesday, after being originally named as a defendant in the lawsuit but later dropped from the case. The Trump family could face a $250 million fine and being barred from running companies in New York, among other consequences. Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled the company’s business certificates should be canceled in a pre-trial judgment finding the defendants liable for fraud, though an appeals court has put that ruling on hold.

Surprising Fact Donald Trump Jr. continued to defend valuations in the statements of financial condition on the stand Thursday, saying when asked if he knew the valuations were misstated, “I actually think things are materially correct. ” Engoron has already ruled the Trumps and their company are liable for fraud because the valuations on the company’s financial statements were incorrect, though the defendants have opposed his findings and are appealing the ruling.

(The trial is moving forward on other allegations, such as insurance fraud and whether the fraudulent valuations were intentional. ) Tangent Former President Donald Trump has not been present in court for his sons’ testimonies on Wednesday and Thursday, but has continued to rail against the case and Engoron on Truth Social. “Engoron is a wacko who is having a great time endlessly sanctioning, fining, & pushing around ‘TRUMP,’ hurting my very good children, & working to damage & defame me,” the former president wrote Thursday.

Key Background Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump both serve as executive vice presidents at the Trump Organization and took control of running the company after their father ascended to the White House. The brothers’ insistence on the stand that they knew nothing about the statements of financial condition echoes depositions they gave ahead of the trial, with Donald Trump Jr.

claiming in a July 2022 deposition that he had “had almost no involvement in” compiling the statements and Eric Trump repeatedly claiming in March he’s a “a construction, concrete and on-the-ground operations guy” who was totally separate from any accounting work or valuations. The attorney general’s lawsuit alleges the ex-president’s sons were aware of the alleged fraudulent scheme to misstate valuations and “knowingly participated” in it, helping to compile valuations and signing off on documents that attested to their accuracy. The attorney general’s lawsuit, first filed in November 2022, claims the defendants misstated valuations more than 200 times on financial documents between 2011 and 2021.

Further Reading Live From The Trump Trial: Don Jr. , Eric Trump Testify (Forbes) Trump’s Sons Eric And Don Jr. Are Taking The Stand In Fraud Trial From Today—Here’s What They Could Say (Forbes) Bad Accounting Or Fraud? Trump’s Profit Numbers Don’t Add Up (Forbes) What Role Did Trump Play In Alleged Fraud Scheme? Here’s What Trial Has Revealed So Far.

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