ALL IN THE FAMILY

Trump, Children Accused of Fraud in New Lawsuit: NYT

For allegedly endorsing sham companies in exchange for lavish payment.

A lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Monday accuses President Trump of endorsing sham companies in exchange for hefty, undisclosed fees, according to a report from The New York Times. Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr. are also named as defendants. The lawsuit, which has been underwritten by a company whose chairman has donated to Democratic candidates, claims that Trump and his children were secretly paid to promote three businesses—telecommunications marketing company ACN, vitamin-marketing company Trump Network, and real-estate advice company Trump Institute—that were actually “get-rich-quick schemes,” the newspaper reports. “This case connects the dots at the Trump Organization and involves systematic fraud that spanned more than a decade, involved multiple Trump businesses and caused tremendous harm to thousands of hardworking Americans,” two lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a statement cited by the Times. The lawyers denied to the Times that the suit, filed days before the midterm elections, was politically motivated. “The case is being brought now because it is ready now,” the pair said.