Mazars USA LLP, the accounting firm that prepared former President Donald Trump’s annual financial statements, is cutting ties with the fo, saying the documents used to secure lucrative loans and burnish Trump’s image as a wealthy businessman are “inaccurate” and “should no longer be relied upon.”
The move comes after accusations from the New York attorney general that the Trump Organization had been fraudulently misrepresenting the value of its assets.
In a letter that was submitted in new court filings on Monday, lawyers representing Mazars USA LLP told the Trump Organization that it would be terminating their business relationship and that the former president’s company should inform any recipient of the financial statements that they can no longer be relied upon.
“We write to advise that the Statements of Financial Condition for Donald J. Trump for the years ending June 30, 2011 — June 30, 2020, should no longer be relied upon and you should inform any recipients thereof who are currently relying upon one or more of those documents that those documents should not be relied upon,” William Kelly, the general counsel for the accounting firm Mazars, in the letter, according to CNN.
“We have come to this conclusion based, in part, upon the filings made by the New York Attorney General on January 18, 2022, our own investigation, and information received from internal and external sources,” the letter states.
The development comes just weeks after New York Attorney General Letitia James said her investigators uncovered evidence that Trump and his company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its golf clubs, skyscrapers and other properties to get loans and tax benefits.
CNN noted that “James’ office included a copy of the letter in a court filing as she seeks to enforce a subpoena to have Trump and his two eldest children testify under oath in her civil investigation into his business practices. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is running a parallel criminal investigation.”
A state court judge, Arthur Engoron, is scheduled to hear arguments in the subpoena dispute on Thursday, according to the report.
