Top Stories Daily Listen Now
RawStory
RawStory

All posts tagged "louis solomon"

Trump's $900K expert was rejected from earlier case for contradictory evidence: report

An expert paid nearly $900,000 to testify in Donald Trump's fraud trial once had his evidence tossed by a New York judge who found it “flatly” contradictory, according to reports and court records.

Evidence from Eli Bartov — an NYU professor paid $877,500 to testify in defense of Trump’s accounting methods — was rejected by the judge in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case against ExxonMobil in 2019, ABC News reports.

State attorney Louis Solomon made this revelation Tuesday as he cross-examined Bartov in the $250 million civil fraud trial against Trump, his two sons and the Trump Organization, according to the report. Trump has denied wrongdoing.

ALSO READ: George Santos’ potential replacement also has financial ethics issues

The judge in the earlier case said Bartov was “unpersuasive” and his testimony was "flatly contradicted by the weight of the evidence," the ruling states.

In that case, Bartov was testifying for the State and against ExxonMobil.

Trump fraud trial witness contradicts himself on stand: reports

An expert witness for Donald Trump in his New York City civil fraud trial seemingly contradicted himself under cross examination Friday, according to reports

Steven Laposa took the stand to rebut what he called the State’s “flawed” interpretation of Trump’s financial condition documents, according to ABC News.

On Thursday, the real estate expert argued the state mistakenly relied on market value of Trump properties, which would be much lower than its investment value, according to the report.

Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million complaint contends Trump inflated the value of his assets to defraud lenders and investors. Trump denies wrongdoing, though the judge has already found him liable for fraud in a summary judgment. The trial is largely about determining damages.

ALSO READ: How Sen. Bob Menendez can keep his pension even if he becomes a convicted felon

But state attorney Louis Solomon Friday whipped out Trump’s financial document Friday and demanded Laposa read from its notes section, according to ABC.

"Assets are stated at their estimated current values," read the note. Laposa then reportedly said, "First time I've seen this."

Laposa was then shown a definition of "Estimated Current Value" and asked if it was the same as market value, according to Messenger reporter Adam Klasfeld.

"It could be," Laposa said, according to Klasfeld.

That’s when Solomon showed Laposa a video deposition on this topic from July 19, 2023, Klasfled notes.

“Back then,” writes Klasfled, “Laposa testified that the two were synonymous.”