The valuation of Mar-a-Lago is central to the ongoing New York fraud case against Trump. He has been accused of “grossly inflating the value of his properties to obtain favorable bank loans while paying taxes on valuations at or below market value,” as The New York Times explained. New York Justice Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the fraud case, valued Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club at $18 million. That is in line with the county appraiser’s valuation.
Yet Engoron’s ruling brought howls of social media protest from Trump and his co-defendant son, Eric Trump, each of whom whined that the property “may be” or is “speculated to be” worth well over a billion dollars.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) wrote to the Palm Beach County property appraiser about the matter. In addition to the complaints from the Trump defendants, Moskowitz also noted that between 2011 and 2021, Palm Beach County had valued Mar-a-Lago as between $18 million and $28 million. Yet, the property was listed as worth $490 million in financial documents provided to banks.
“If the property value of Mar-a-Lago is so much higher than it was appraised, will you be amending the property value in line with the Trump family’s belief that the property is worth well over a billion dollars?” Moskowitz asked. “I thank you for your time and consideration and look forward to a prompt response.”
Ooh, I look forward to the response, too.
This is yet another reason why Moskowitz is a C&L fave.
