Donald Trump dropped by his accountants. His firm of experts said that the financial declarations provided for almost ten years by the former American president were not reliable.
In a letter sent last week, the Mazars group had informed the Trump Organization that it would no longer work for the company, which is under investigation for possible tax evasion.
The document was presented in court by State Attorney Letitia James, who asked a judge to compel Donald Trump to comply with invitations to testify as part of the investigation.
Last month, the prosecutor claimed her team had uncovered evidence of fraud, including fraudulent asset valuation.
According to Mazars, the prosecutor’s findings led her to consider that Trump’s accounting for the year ending June 30, 2011 to that ending June 30, 2020 “should no longer be considered reliable.”
A brake on a second term?
These financial statements are at the center of Letitia James’ investigation, and another, criminal, led by the Manhattan prosecutor.
The Trump Organization is suspected of overstating the value of certain properties when applying for loans from banks and undervaluing those same properties to the taxman in order to pay less tax.
Last July, the Trump Organization and its accountant, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 counts of fraud and tax evasion.
According to Donald Trump, both investigations are motivated by political objectives. The Trump Organization expressed its “disappointment” after the decision of the Mazars group, in a press release Monday evening. The investigations carried out in New York are thus “useless”, affirms the company of the former head of state.
These legal troubles could thwart a possible second race for the White House.
