{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-trump-soho-fraud-investors","title":"Trump SoHo: Fraud Investigation, Investor Losses, DA Charges Dropped","date":"2006-01-01","lastUpdated":"2012-06-01","description":"Trump SoHo, a hotel-condominium in Manhattan, was sold to buyers based on inflated sales figures. Buyers discovered that fewer units had been sold than represented. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. opened a fraud investigation into the Trump SoHo misrepresentations. In 2012, the DA's office dropped the investigation after Trump's attorneys — including Marc Kasowitz — made a direct presentation to Vance. The decision was controversial; ADA Catherine Christian, who led the investigation, was reportedly not consulted before it was dropped. Buyers settled a civil suit with the Trump Organization for $3.16 million.","summary":"Trump SoHo buyers, including an investor group led by Sateesh Bhagat, discovered that marketing materials claiming 60% of units were sold were false — fewer than 15% had been sold. They sued for fraud. The Manhattan DA opened a parallel criminal investigation. In 2012, after Trump lawyers met with DA Vance, the investigation was dropped. Vance later received a $25,000 campaign contribution from Kasowitz's law firm, which he initially kept and later returned; Vance denied it influenced his decision. The Bhagat investor group settled civilly for $3.16 million. The pattern — criminal investigation followed by dropped charges after private meeting — resembled the Bondi situation in Florida.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/trump-soho-fraud.html","title":"Trump SoHo: How Trump Fraud Investigation Was Dropped After Private Meeting","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-soho-fraud-investigation/2017/10/26/story.html","title":"How Manhattan DA dropped the Trump SoHo fraud investigation","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-soho-fraud-manhattan-da-dropped","title":"Manhattan DA dropped Trump SoHo fraud case after private meeting","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/how-trump-family-members-avoided-a-criminal-indictment","title":"How the Trump Family Members Avoided a Criminal Indictment","publisher":"The New Yorker"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Trump-SoHo","fraud","pre-presidency","corruption","Manhattan-DA","real-estate"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2006-01-01","title":"Trump SoHo marketed with inflated sales figures","summary":"Trump SoHo is marketed to buyers with representations that approximately 60% of units have been sold. Fewer than 15% have actually been sold."},{"date":"2010-01-01","title":"Buyers discover fraud — civil lawsuit filed","summary":"Buyers, including investor Sateesh Bhagat, discover the misrepresentations and file a civil fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization and Trump family members."},{"date":"2011-01-01","title":"Manhattan DA opens criminal fraud investigation","summary":"The Manhattan DA's office opens a parallel criminal fraud investigation based on evidence from the civil case. ADA Christian is assigned to lead the investigation."},{"date":"2012-06-01","title":"Investigation dropped after private meeting with DA","summary":"After Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz meets privately with DA Vance, the criminal investigation is dropped. ADA Christian reportedly objects but is not consulted. The Bhagat investors settle the civil case for $3.16 million."},{"date":"2017-10-26","title":"New Yorker and NYT publish investigation into dropped case","summary":"Investigative reporting reveals the details of the dropped investigation, Kasowitz's meeting with Vance, and the subsequent campaign donation. Vance returns the $25,000."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Trump SoHo buyers who purchased condominiums based on fraudulent sales statistics; investors who lost money on a project based on false marketing claims","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Co-developer; named in fraud lawsuit; his company made the false sales representations to buyers","institution":"Trump Organization"},{"name":"Ivanka Trump","role":"Co-developer; participated in sales presentations; named in fraud lawsuit","institution":"Trump Organization"},{"name":"Donald Trump Jr.","role":"Co-developer; participated in sales presentations; named in fraud lawsuit","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2017-10-26","summary":"Documented from 2017 investigative reporting."}]}}