美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普在纽约受审2 . 5亿美元的民事诉讼这可能会改变帮助特朗普入主白宫的个人财富和房地产帝国。
特朗普，他的儿子们埃里克·特朗普和小唐纳德·特朗普。，以及特朗普公司的其他高管被纽约司法部长莱蒂夏·詹姆斯(Letitia James)指控参与了一项长达十年的计划，在该计划中，他们使用“大量欺诈和虚假陈述行为”来夸大特朗普的净资产，以获得更优惠的贷款条款。该案件的法官做出裁决后，审判就开始了部分简易判决特朗普提交了对其资产的“欺诈性估值”，让审判来决定其他行动以及被告应该受到的惩罚(如果有的话)。
这位前总统否认了所有不当行为，他的律师辩称，特朗普所谓的虚高估值是他商业技巧的产物。
法院否认特朗普加快封口令上诉的努力
周一下午，前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)在民事欺诈案的审判中请求加快批准对禁言令的上诉，但遭到拒绝。
周一，当特朗普站上证人席为自己辩护时，禁令可能仍然有效。
特朗普的律师请求最初取消禁言令的法官大卫·弗里德曼(David Friedman)允许他们向纽约上诉法院上诉恢复禁言令的最终决定。
“你得到了一个评委小组的决定。一名法官无法撤销陪审团的决定，”法庭律师劳伦·霍姆斯(Lauren Holmes)周一下午在上诉庭第一部的日程安排会议上说。
纽约总检察长的律师丹尼斯·范(Dennis Fan)也拒绝同意加快简报时间表。
“你只是想让这件事拖到审判结束，”特朗普的律师克里斯托弗·基斯说。“他们就是这么做的。”
特朗普仍有途径向更高一级法院上诉该决定;然而，这一努力将比他的律师所希望的时间要长。特朗普的律师现在面临着12月11日星期一向第一部门提交文件的最后期限。
专家表示，开发商在评估房产价值时有更大的自由度
房地产估价专家弗雷德里克·陈(Frederick Chin)作证说，与评估师相比，开发商通常有更大的自由度来评估他们的房产。
根据Chin的说法，开发商考虑其资产的企业价值，即同一公司管理的不同物业(如四季酒店或丽思卡尔顿酒店)作为资产集合的一部分如何增值。
“整体的价值大于部分的总和，”法官亚瑟·恩戈伦总结秦的证词时说。
Chin补充说，开发商还会考虑他们的资产可能会受到外部环境影响的长期计划，如2008年的经济衰退或新冠肺炎疫情。
“这个房间里的每个人对明天和未来都有不同的看法，”Chin说，他将评估资产比作“水晶球”
消息人士称，特朗普可能会在周四出庭受审
据知情人士透露，前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)可能会在周四出席他的民事欺诈审判。他的儿子埃里克周三作证时，他预计不会出席。
特朗普最后一次出席审判是在11月6日，当时他作为最后一名州证人作证。在法院开庭的39天中，这位前总统总共出席了8天。
特朗普定于12月11日周一作证，作为该案的最后一名证人。
专家称,“天才因素”可使房产价值增加数十亿
一位房地产估价方面的国防专家表示，开发商的愿景可以为一块空地增加超过10亿美元的价值。
拥有房地产估价专家资格的弗雷德里克·陈(Frederick Chin)认为，唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)使用的是其房产的“好像”投资价值，而不是其当前的“原样”市场价值。根据Chin的说法,“好像”估价观点允许房地产开发商在确定其价值时考虑房地产的长期发展计划。
例如，据Chin说，纽约市中心的一块空地可能有5亿美元的市场价值。一个设想在这块地产上建一座酒店的房地产开发商可能会看到它的投资价值接近20亿美元。
法官亚瑟·恩戈伦(Arthur Engoron)经常打断秦的证词，他把导致一个假设的空地价值相差15亿美元的方法描述为开发商的“天才因素”。
Trump fraud trial: Trump likely to attend trial Thursday
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a$250 million civil lawsuitthat could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sonsEric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and other top Trump Organization executives are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in apartial summary judgmentthat Trump had submitted "fraudulent valuations" for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have argued that Trump's alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Court denies Trump’s effort to expedite gag order appeal
Former President Donald Trump’s request for an expedited grant of leave to appeal the gag orders in his civil fraud trial was denied Monday afternoon.
The gag order is now likely to still be in effect on Monday when Trump takes the witness stand in his own defense.
Trump’s lawyers requested that Judge David Friedman, who initially lifted the gag order, permit them to appeal the final decision that reinstated the gag order to New York’s Court of Appeals.
“You had a decision by a panel of judges. A single judge cannot undo a panel’s decision,” Lauren Holmes, a court attorney, said during a scheduling meeting Monday afternoon at the Appellate Division First Department.
Dennis Fan, a lawyer for the New York Attorney General, also declined to consent to expediting the briefing schedule.
“You just want to let this drag out until the end of the trial,” Trump attorney Christopher Kise said. “That’s what they are doing.”
Trump still has an avenue to appeal the decision to a higher court; however, the effort will take longer than his lawyers would like. Trump’s lawyers now face a deadline of Monday, Dec. 11 to file their papers to the First Department.
Developers have more latitude when valuing properties, expert says
Frederick Chin, a real estate valuation expert, testified that developers often have more latitude to value their properties compared to appraisers.
According to Chin, developers consider the enterprise value of their assets, meaning how different properties managed by the same company – such as Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton hotels – increase in value as part of a collection of assets.
“The whole is worth more than the sum of its parts,” Judge Arthur Engoron said to summarize Chin’s testimony.
Chin added that developers also consider the long-term plan for how their assets might be impacted by outside circumstances, like the 2008 recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone in this room has a different perspective on what the next day and the future holds,” Chin said, comparing valuing assets to looking into a “crystal ball.”
Trump likely to attend trial Thursday, say sources
Former President Donald Trump will likely attend his civil fraud trial on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter. He is not expected to be in attendance on Wednesday when his son Eric testifies.
Trump last attended the trial on Nov. 6 when he testified as the last state witness. In total, the former president has attended the trial for eight of the 39 days the court has been in session.
Trump is scheduled to testify on Monday, Dec. 11, as the last witness in the case.
'Genius factor' can boost property value by billions, expert says
A defense expert in real estate valuation suggested that a developer's vision could add over a billion dollars of value to a vacant lot.
Frederick Chin, who was qualified as an expert in real estate valuation, argued that Donald Trump used the "as if" investment value of his properties, rather than their current "as is" market value. According to Chin, the "as if" valuation perspective allows a real estate developer to consider the long-term development plans of a property when determining its value.
For example, a vacant lot in the heart of New York City might have a market value of $500 million, according to Chin. A real estate developer who envisions a hotel on the property might see its investment value closer to $2 billion.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who frequently interjected into Chin's testimony, described the approach that resulted in a $1.5 billion difference in the value of a hypothetical vacant lot as a developer's "genius factor."
