Tag

#Atlantic-City

9 incidents

Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Trump Taj Mahal: $10M Money Laundering Fine — Largest in Casino History at the Time

The Bank Secrecy Act requires casinos to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) for cash transactions over $10,000 and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for transactions that appear to involve money laundering. FinCEN found that Trump Taj Mahal had willfully failed to file CTRs and SARs, allowed transactions structured to avoid reporting thresholds (known as structuring — itself a federal crime), and maintained an anti-money laundering program with known deficiencies for years without correction. The settlement required payment of $10 million and an admission that violations occurred. The casino had also received a previous warning from regulators in the 1990s about similar violations — meaning the failures were repeated over more than two decades.

Sources
4
money-launderingFinCENcasinopre-presidencycorruption
Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Trump Taj Mahal: $10 Million FinCEN Fine for Willful Anti-Money-Laundering Violations

FinCEN found that the Trump Taj Mahal had, over the course of years, failed to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) on large cash transactions as required under the Bank Secrecy Act, failed to maintain adequate Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) programs, and failed to maintain basic anti-money-laundering controls. The violations were documented across thousands of transactions. FinCEN described the violations as 'willful' — meaning the casino knew what was required and did not comply. The $10 million fine was FinCEN's largest-ever against a casino; the previous Trump casinos had also faced regulatory action.

Sources
4
casinomoney-launderingFinCENpre-presidencyAtlantic-City
Updated November 5, 2016 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

Wage Theft at Trump Properties: Documented Underpayment and Nonpayment of Workers

Workers at Trump properties documented wage theft in multiple documented cases: dishwashers and waiters at Trump's Atlantic City casinos said they were told management had decided not to pay them; golf course workers in New York, Florida, and New Jersey described being denied overtime and having wages disputed after work was completed; cleaning and maintenance workers at Trump properties reported underpayment of hourly wages. The pattern was consistent with the contractor nonpayment strategy — dispute the amount after work is done, offer less than owed, and rely on the economics of litigation to prevent recovery. The Department of Labor found violations at Trump properties in multiple investigations.

Sources
4
wage-theftworkerspre-presidencycivil-rightslabor-violations
Updated September 26, 2016 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Atlantic City Casinos: Six Bankruptcies, Bondholders Wiped Out, Workers Unpaid

Trump's Atlantic City casinos were overleveraged from the beginning: the Taj Mahal alone carried $675 million in junk bonds at 14% interest when it opened in 1990. When revenue fell short of the debt service requirements, bankruptcy followed. Through six rounds of bankruptcy, Trump negotiated deals that preserved his equity stake or management role while bondholders received cents on the dollar. He personally profited $82 million in salary and fees from the casinos between 1995 and 2009 while publicly traded Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts lost $1.4 billion. Trump repeatedly characterized the bankruptcies as strategic use of 'the laws of this country' and claimed he had made 'a lot of money' on Atlantic City.

Sources
3
Atlantic-Citybankruptcycasinospre-presidencyfinancial
Updated June 21, 2016 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Atlantic City Casino Bankruptcies: Six Failures, Contractors and Bondholders Left Unpaid

Trump's Atlantic City ventures were financed substantially through junk bonds. The Trump Taj Mahal opened in April 1990 carrying $675 million in junk bond debt at interest rates of 14 percent; by December 1990 it was behind on interest payments. The first bankruptcy followed in 1991. Trump subsequently filed bankruptcies involving his casino holdings in 1992, 2004, and 2009. In each restructuring, bondholders and creditors took substantial haircuts. Trump negotiated to retain management fees and significant equity stakes as conditions of restructuring. He ultimately sold his remaining stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2009 and 2010. Trump characterized the repeated bankruptcies as smart use of the legal system; critics noted the losses were borne primarily by investors and creditors, not Trump personally.

Sources
4
Atlantic-Citycasinobankruptcypre-presidencycorruption
Updated February 17, 2009 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Casino Bankruptcies and Junk Bond Fraud: How Trump Used Other People's Money

Trump's Atlantic City casinos — the Taj Mahal, Plaza, Castle, and related entities — were financed with junk bonds carrying interest rates of 14-17%, which were unsustainable given the revenue the casinos could generate. Trump had collected hundreds of millions in management fees, licensing fees, and development profits before the bankruptcies. When the companies collapsed, thousands of bondholders, including retirees who had purchased the high-yield bonds, received pennies on the dollar or nothing.

Sources
4
bankruptcycasinoAtlantic-Cityjunk-bondspre-presidency
Updated June 9, 2016 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Atlantic City Contractor Fraud: Systematic Nonpayment of Small Businesses and Workers

USA Today and other outlets documented a decades-long pattern in which Trump companies refused to pay contractors, vendors, and workers after completion of their work. Affected businesses included a dishware supplier, a plumbing contractor, a piano bar operator, and hundreds of others. Trump's negotiating strategy, described by associates, was to refuse payment and force small businesses to accept pennies on the dollar rather than face litigation.

Sources
4
wage-theftcontractor-fraudAtlantic-Citypre-presidencycorruption
Updated May 22, 2016 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Organized Crime Connections: Concrete, Casinos, and the Five Families

Building in 1980s New York required navigating a concrete industry dominated by organized crime. Trump Tower, built 1980-1983, used S&A Concrete, a company co-owned by Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno (Genovese crime boss) and Paul Castellano (Gambino crime boss) through intermediaries. Trump's relationship with Roy Cohn — who simultaneously represented multiple mob clients — connected him to the broader organized crime ecosystem. His Atlantic City casinos dealt with labor unions whose pension funds and leadership had documented mob ties. These relationships did not make Trump a mobster; they documented the environment in which he built his early business empire and the tolerance or accommodation he showed to organized crime-connected business partners.

Sources
4
organized-crimeSalernoS-A-Concretepre-presidencycorruption
Updated April 1, 1997 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

Documented Racial Discrimination by Trump Organization Against Employees and Tenants

John O'Donnell's 1991 memoir 'Trumped!' quoted Trump making explicitly racist remarks about a Black accountant: criticizing the employee's work and saying he preferred having 'short guys that wear yarmulkes every day' do his accounting rather than Black men. In a 1997 Playboy interview, Trump was asked about the quotes and replied the book was 'probably true' — then added that he had been 'playing golf' when he said it and denied the remarks were racist. New Jersey Casino Control Commission records documented that supervisors at Trump's Castle were instructed to remove Black dealers from tables when certain high-rolling guests requested it, a discriminatory practice that resulted in regulatory sanctions.

Sources
4
racial-discriminationemploymentcasinopre-presidencycivil-rights