On day one of the highly-anticipated fraud trial targeting former President Donald Trump, his vast business dynasty, and close-knit allies, all eyes suddenly zoomed in on a stunning controversy: the dubious valuation of Ivanka Trump’s lavish Manhattan penthouse!
Newsweek broke the news on October 3, 2023, revealing jaw-dropping details from former Trump bean-counter, Donald Bender. He let slip that he’d spotted financial hiccups “now and then”, highlighting a juicy bit where Ivanka’s swanky Trump Park Avenue apartment’s estimated value shockingly clashed with the purchase price she got.
Digging deeper, the New York Attorney General’s suit alleges that the Trump clan pumped up the flat’s 2011 and 2012 price tag to nearly two and a half times what Ivanka was pitched— a staggering difference between $20.8 million and a mere $8.5 million.
This high-stakes trial, watched over by Judge Arthur Engoron, tails a fresh verdict that Trump had possibly blown up the price tags of other luxury properties, including the famous Mar-a-Lago, to cash in.
While the charge sheet reads like a thriller—fake records, misleading financial statements, and insurance scams—Trump remains defiant, branding the entire trial as a political witch hunt.
Though Monday’s courtroom drama saw Bender stressing he wasn’t the financial statement watchdog, he did confess to tweaking the property’s value twice.
With the media in a frenzy over the trial, all eyes are also on Ivanka. Initially slated as a defendant, she was booted off the list in June 2023. But her role as a potential witness sparks rumors. Could she be the key to unveiling family secrets in court?
Reacting to Judge Engoron’s bold move, which could snatch away some Trump licenses and pass properties to third parties, Trump and his offspring cried foul. With lawyers prepped to challenge, the courtroom tension is palpable. Trump, ever the fighter, marked his territory in court on Monday, pledging to battle for his honor.
As the trial weaves a gripping narrative, the world’s waiting with bated breath. With the Trump Organization’s money moves and property valuation plots under the microscope, the verdict could forever alter the legacy of this towering American icon.
