Businessman Kevin O'Leary told CNN host Laura Coates on Thursday that “all” real estate developers are guilty of the alleged real estate fraud that Donald Trump was found to have committed.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is suing Trump, accusing the Trump Organization of repeatedly overvaluing its properties to lenders while reporting different property values to tax authorities. .judgement Trump has already been found guilty of fraud.. The remaining questions in this case are how much the Trump Organization will be fined and what impact it will have on its future business.
Many believe James pursued the case politically motivated, O'Leary seems to agree with this assessment. In fact, he told Coates that every real estate developer in the world was guilty of Trump's actions.
Mr O'Leary explained:
So, if you're a developer and you have a building on a block somewhere in the United States that's worth, say, $500 million, and you want to build right next to it, you go to the bank and say, “This building is worth $500 million. I want to take out a construction loan on this property, and I want you to tell me it's also worth $500 million.'' The bank will negotiate with you. , you say, “No, we think it's worth $400 million,” and you fight.
You are always striving to present your assets in the brightest light that you can judge by sunlight. You only get 40% or 50% loan-to-value, so you need to maximize the value of your loan. Then borrow that money. For a $500 million property, you would likely receive $250 million and use a construction financing loan to build a new building.
“Forget Trump, every real estate developer in every corner of the planet is doing this,” O'Leary said.
So the question to worry about is who lost the money? O'Leary said there was “nobody” because the Trump Organization paid for the bank loan. So, he said, if James remains consistent, she will sue “every real estate developer” in her jurisdiction.
“If you're a real estate developer, you look at this and you say, 'What is this? This is ridiculous!'” he said. “For real estate developers, this is a joke.”
This explanation neutralized the essence of James' case against Trump, and Coates was shocked.
“It's interesting to me to hear this perspective because you don't often hear it from that particular angle,” she said.
“The first question is, is everyone doing it in the real estate industry? Yes, everyone is doing it, not just in the country but around the world. This is how it works,” O'Leary said. answered.
Closing argument in civil litigation was held on Thursday. Mr. James is asking a judge to fine Mr. Trump $370 million, but a final ruling is expected to take several weeks. Still, Trump plans to appeal the ruling.
Mr. O'Leary told Mr. Coates that he believed the case would not survive an appeal.
'Real estate developers everywhere are doing this': Kevin O'Leary responds to Trump civil fraud scandalwww.youtube.com
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