Already under investigation in New York for allegedly committing financial fraud, it now appears that failed, one-term former President Donald Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, are also facing charges of insurance fraud after a former employee at one of Trump’s golf clubs says Trump repeatedly filed inflated damage claims.
Rolling Stone reports the alleged fraud took place at the Briarcliff golf course:
“When a deluge flooded the Trump Organization’s Westchester County golf course and a nearby town in 2011, the organization used a wildly inflated claim to score an insurance payout of nearly $1.3 million, pulling in far more than what it spent to repair the course. The previously unreported insurance claim at Trump National Golf Club in the Village of Briarcliff Manor far outstripped the cost to repair the damages, which were about $130,000 to $150,000, one of the sources says.”
The former employee also noted:
“The work was never completed. They basically band-aided it.”
Initially, Trump’s company filed a wildly inflated claim but were refused payment when the insurer demanded Trump provide receipts, which were never made available.
This latest claim of fraud could place Trump and Trump Org. in even greater legal jeopardy:
The Westchester County District Attorney’s office has opened a criminal investigation into financial dealings at Trump’s Briarcliff club. The New York Times, which first reported the investigation, said it appears focused at least in part on whether the Trump Organization misled local officials about the value of the property to reduce its taxes. The organization’s alleged insurance shenanigans at Briarcliff may help explain how the Trump Organization, year over year, took in more from insurance than it paid out in premiums. One of the sources said the company would routinely gather overinflated repair estimates, often from members of Trump’s clubs, that could be used to justify insurance claims. In a conversation with top company officials, the source learned that the Trump Organization calculated that it got more than $2 back from insurers for every dollar it paid in — a return of more than 100 percent. Broadly, the source says, the company viewed insurance not as an expense, but rather as an ongoing source of profit.
With Trump hinting that he plans to run for president again in 2024, it could be that his strategy is to block all legal actions against him by getting presidential immunity from any lawsuits if and when he’s back in the White House. Many legal experts say charges against the former president and his company need to be filed as soon as possible to make sure Trump is held liable for his misdeeds.
