Donald Trump’s Fortune & Net Worth Built On Fraud & Dodging Taxes, ‘New York Times’ Investigation Says

A recent – and controversial – investigative article by the New York Times reported that Trump has been allegedly involved in tax evasion and fraud.

According to the special investigation, President Donald Trump participated in “dubious tax schemes” in the 1990s. The newspaper’s investigative team reported that in order to increase the fortunes that Donald Trump received from his parents, he allegedly committed “outright fraud.”

The report attempted to debunk the claims that Trump made during his electioneering campaign regarding him being a “self-made billionaire” who didn’t seek any financial support from his father, except for a small loan. The results of the investigation suggested otherwise.

After digging into “a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records,” the New York Times says its team discovered that the president received today’s equivalent of approximately $413 million from the real estate empire of his father, Fred C. Trump.

According to the Times report, Donald Trump received the money because his parents “dodged taxes,” and because he, along with this brother, set up a “sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents.”

Providing deeper details, the investigation reported that more than $1 billion in wealth was transferred by the president’s parents to their children, in accordance with which they were liable to pay “55 percent tax rate on gifts and inheritances.” However, by using various shady tax-evasion methods, the Trumps only paid about 5 percent, as shown by tax records, the report stated.

The Times called the report “one of the longest investigative articles ever published” in the newspaper, and stressed on the authenticity of the information by stating that the “investigation also draws on tens of thousands of pages of confidential records – bank statements, financial audits, accounting ledgers, cash disbursement reports, invoices and canceled checks.”

The New York Times report says that its team approached President Trump for a comment for several weeks, but that he repeatedly declined the request.

However, upon receiving a detailed description of the report’s findings, one of Trump’s lawyers, Charles J. Harder, issued a written statement on Monday, in which he categorically denied the tax evasion allegations by calling the findings “100 percent false and highly defamatory.” He also said the following.

“There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which The Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate.”

Soon after the publication of the report, it was widely shared on the internet – both by the president’s supporters and critics. However, President Trump, who is known for disparaging media outlets for allegedly disseminating “fake news” during his speeches and on Twitter, did not post any comments related to the investigation.