In the ongoing New York business fraud trial involving Donald Trump, one of his purported expert witnesses, Steven Laposa, made a surprising admission on Friday. Laposa had taken the stand the previous day to discuss the valuation of Trump’s real estate assets. The New York attorney general has accused Trump and his associates of fraudulently inflating the value of their properties to secure more favorable bank loan terms.
Laposa criticized the attorney general’s valuation approach, arguing that it relied on market value analysis instead of investment value, which considers the owner’s investment requirements. However, when Laposa returned to the stand on Friday, a lawyer from the attorney general’s office questioned his expertise in reviewing personal financial statements. Laposa confessed that he had no experience in this area. Moreover, when asked if he was a certified appraiser, Laposa once again replied in the negative.
The lawyer then referred to Laposa’s earlier deposition from July, where he emphasized the importance of examining underlying assumptions when disparate valuations exist. Laposa admitted that he had not done so with Trump’s valuations. Additionally, Laposa disclosed that he had never seen the financial statements for Trump’s property at 40 Wall Street, which could make an accurate valuation challenging. In his previous testimony, Laposa had claimed that the property was undervalued.
The purpose of bringing Laposa as an expert witness remains unclear, as his testimony has been deemed disastrous. This further adds to the mounting challenges faced by Trump in this trial. It is important to note that this particular trial aims to determine the damages. In September, Presiding Judge Arthur Engoron had already ruled that Trump committed fraud. As a result, Engoron ordered the cancellation of all of Trump’s New York business certificates, effectively crippling the Trump Organization’s operations in the state.
Throughout the trial, Trump and his family members have testified, but their performances have been riddled with major mistakes. Furthermore, Trump’s legal team has presented faulty evidence, which has undermined their own case. Overall, the trial has been a series of setbacks for Trump, and the outcome seems to be heavily stacked against him.
