52°
In one “Statements of Financial Condition," obtained by the Post for 2011, Trump exaggerated the value of his 200-acre Seven Springs estate in Bedford by $241 million.
In the statement, Trump said the property, “zoned for nine luxurious homes," was valued at $261 million, far more than the roughly $20 million quoted by Westchester assessors.
Trump went on to state the homes would "yield significant cash flow," as he built them and sold them.
Trump's accountants who prepared the statements, said the assessments were made "by Mr. Trump," and they accepted the numbers, but "did not verify or audit the figures in the statements."
Instead, when Trump provided them data, they accepted it without checking for accuracy.
“In the compilation process, it is not the role of the accountant to assess the values,” said Gerald J. Rosenblum, one of the accountants. “The role is to accept those values and move them forward.”
At the time the statement was prepared, the president had received preliminary “conceptual approval” to build the nine homes on the site, the Post reported.
But Westchester officials said he never finished the last step in the approval process and none of the homes were ever built.
The Post reports the statements, from 2011 to 2013, were used by Trump in different financial efforts including an attempt to purchase the Buffalo Bills.
The New York Times said he was backed by Deutsche Bank, which received the "financial statements," but later lost a bidding war, and the team was sold to someone else.
Click here to read The Washington Post report.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Armonk and receive free news updates.
