Politics

New York state tax department reviewing fraud allegations involving Trump in NYT article

Key Points
  • New York state tax officials are investigating allegations detailed in an exhaustive New York Times investigation into Donald Trump and his family's business dealings.
  • The Times reported that Trump and his family committed "instances of outright fraud" in order to transfer millions of dollars from the real estate empire of the president's father, Fred Trump, to his children without paying the appropriate taxes.
  • "The Tax Department is reviewing the allegations in the NYT article and is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation," a spokesman from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance said in an email to CNBC.
NY state reviewing NYT's tax fraud allegations on Trump
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NY state reviewing NYT's tax fraud allegations on Trump

New York state tax officials are investigating allegations detailed in an exhaustive New York Times investigation into Donald Trump and his family's business dealings.

The Times reported on Tuesday that Trump and his family committed "instances of outright fraud" in order to transfer millions of dollars from the real estate empire of the president's father, Fred Trump, to his children without paying the appropriate taxes.

"The Tax Department is reviewing the allegations in the NYT article and is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation," a spokesman from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance said in an email to CNBC.

Representatives from the White House and the Trump Organization did not return requests for comment.

Being president is costing Trump a lot of money
VIDEO1:1901:19
Being president is costing Trump a lot of money

In a statement to the Times, Trump lawyer Charles Harder denied any allegations of fraud and tax evasion, saying "the facts upon which The Times bases its allegations are extremely inaccurate."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in her response to the Times, backed up Trump's claims about his wealth, repeating the story that he took a $1 million loan from his father and paid it back. Trump said numerous times as a presidential candidate that he had received the "very small" $1 million loan from his father. But the newspaper's investigation found that Trump had actually been lent at least $60.7 million.

The article claims the Trump family committed "instances of outright fraud," with the president himself receiving today's equivalent of $413 million from the real estate holdings of his father, the Times reported while citing 100,000 documents and interviews with former family associates.

Meanwhile, the state tax department already is investigating the president's charity, the Trump Foundation. The president's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has also been caught up in the tax department probe as he was subpoenaed by investigators in August,.

The probe came on the heels of a lawsuit by New York state Attorney General Barbara Underwood against the foundation, as well as Trump himself, claiming that he broke state and federal law by mismanaging the charity.

The state attorney general's office declined to comment.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat who is one of Trump's most vocal critics, tweeted Tuesday night that he would direct the city's finance department to look into the claims made in the Times investigation.

BDB tweet

WATCH: Trump's 'suspect tax schemes' in focus

Trump's 'suspect tax schemes' in focus
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Trump's 'suspect tax schemes' in focus