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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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A tax attorney for Donald Trump was grilled this week about the former president's alleged attempts to overvalue his golf courses during Trump's New York state civil fraud trial.
Sheri Dillon, who has long worked with Trump, answered questions under oath about his valuation of his golf resorts, which is part of a case brought against him by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Her lawsuit accuses the former president of fraudulently inflating the value of his properties and assets in financial statements for years to deceive banks, insurers and others.
One of the suit's allegations against Trump is that he inflated his golf courses' value based on inaccurate planning permissions proposals or the ignoring of appraisals. Trump has denied all wrongdoing in connection with James' civil suit.
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On Thursday, Dillon was presented with evidence that suggested that Trump had overvalued his Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles by more than $100 million, compared with its actual worth.
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Dillon told the New York court that in 2014 she received an appraisal that said the club was worth $107 million. A spreadsheet that had been entered into evidence was then presented, and it revealed that Trump's financial statements placed the club's value at $213 million that same year.
During her testimony, Dillon said: "I have never seen this document. I don't even know what this is."
State attorney Louis Solomon then asked Dillon if she ever discussed the valuation of the Los Angeles golf club with anyone at the Trump Organization, which is also named in James' lawsuit.
"I don't recall. Over the years, I am sure it came up at some point," Dillon replied.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump Organization for comment via email.
In January 2022, James' office issued a statement saying it had evidence that the Trump Organization submitted "fraudulent or misleading valuations" to the IRS about the Los Angeles club.
James' office said Trump's real estate company had done so by "overstating the speed" with which the site could be developed and by failing to value a reduction in affordable housing requirements.
Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump committed fraud while inflating the value of several properties and assets, including his golf courses.
In 2014, Trump valued his Aberdeenshire golf club in Scotland at $327 million. This valuation was said to have been reached on the assumption that he had the right to build 2,500 residential homes in the area, although he had approval to build fewer than 1,500 holiday apartments and golf villas.
In his September ruling, Engoron noted that Aberdeenshire Council granted planning permission in 2019 for 500 residential homes to be built along with 50 "leisure/resort units" at the golf resort. One month later, a Statement of Financial Conditions submitted by Trump valued the course on the basis that 2,035 private residential homes could be developed.
Since Engoron has already ruled that Trump had committed fraud by misrepresenting the value of his properties, the civil trial is considering six remaining allegations in James' lawsuit, as well as the size of the penalty.
Trump faces being banned from doing business in New York state, having his properties removed from his control or being forced to pay a fine totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
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