Cohen: Trump sought Deutsche Bank loans by inflating assets
Attorney Michael Cohen alleged on Wednesday that his former client President Trump inflated his real estate assets when applying for loans from Deutsche Bank.
As part of his testimony to the House Oversight Committee, Cohen provided financial statements outlining Trump’s assets and liabilities in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2013, his net worth nearly doubled to $8.66 billion due to a new $4 billion line item attributed to “brand value.”
That next year, Trump submitted those documents to Deutsche Bank to try to obtain a loan to bid on the Buffalo Bills – a failed effort given the NFL team was eventually sold to Terry Pegula -- and the Forbes company.
“I believe those numbers are inflated,” said Cohen, who was previoulsy sentenced to prison for three years for lying to Congress.
Cohen cited a real estate holding Trump said was worth $524.7 million in 2011 that was ultimately based upon what he "wanted to value the asset at." The Trump Organization obtained an appraisal in 2015 on the 40 Wall Street property that valued it at $540 million, according to the Real Deal.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the White House said “disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements.
“Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It’s laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined to comment.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB | DEUTSCHE BANK AG | 17.12 | +0.07 | +0.41% |
The bank has been a key focus of Democrats in their investigation into Trump and his business dealings.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters – both Democrats from California – sent an initial request for information from Deutsche Bank in January. A spokesman at the time told Fox Business the bank “is engaged in a productive dialogue from those Committees to determine the best and most appropriate way of assisting them.”
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Deutsche Bank previously rebuffed Waters’ attempts to obtain information on Trump’s ties to the lender, which go back to 1998 when it provided Trump a loan to renovate a property. In 2018, Deutsche Bank also loaned Trump $130 million to construct the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.