New York attorney general seeks special monitor to oversee Trump firm

theguardian.com:

The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, on Thursday urged a court to appoint an independent monitor to oversee Donald Trump’s family company before a civil fraud case – against the former president, three of his adult children and the family’s real estate firm – goes to trial.

James’s injunction also sought to bar Trump’s company from conducting “significant fraudulent and illegal business” of precisely the kind described in the lawsuit filed by her office against him in September.

James asked a state court in Manhattan to bar the Trump Organization from offloading its assets while the case plays out and to prevent it issuing financial statements that do not explain their methodology, court papers showed. James asked to speed up the case and sought a trial date for October 2023.

The attorney general said it was necessary to install the monitor before the trial to make sure the company does not sell assets and to oversee its submission of financial information to third parties.

The injunction claimed that despite the lawsuit less than a month ago, Trump and his associates have proceeded to indulge in activities that they were aware are “improper or fraudulent”.

Examples include a 2021 statement that still has an “improper ‘fixed assets’” system used in assigning the value to his golf clubs, as well as the absence of restrictions on use of the Mar-a-Lago property when valuing that property. Furthermore, Trump is allegedly still holding on to $93m from a partnership with the Vornado real estate organization as his own.

James in September sued Trump, three of his adult children – Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump – and the company, accusing it of overvaluing its assets and his net worth through a decade of