Trump Accused of Illegally Bribing State Attorney General

For those absolutely devoid of scruples, charity fraud is the field par excellance, in which you can simultaneously harvest kudos for your humanitarianism and make off with vast bundles of untaxed cash. Convictions for charity fraud are so rare as to be nonexistent, so any criminals operating in other fields of endeavor are incurring unnecessary risks.

Trump Accused of Illegally Bribing State Attorney General

Postby admin » Sat Mar 26, 2016 5:41 am

Trump Accused of Illegally Bribing State Attorney General
By Andrew Emett
March 22, 2016

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While Florida’s Attorney General was reviewing whether to investigate fraud allegations at Trump University, The Donald J. Trump Foundation illegally contributed $25,000 to a political committee supporting her reelection and failed to file the donation with the IRS. After the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) recently filed a complaint against the Trump Foundation, Trump’s campaign admitted to violating federal tax laws while placing the blame on a series of clerical errors.

On August 25, 2013, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued Donald Trump, the Trump Entrepreneur Institute (formerly Trump University), and Trump University’s former president “for engaging in persistent fraudulent, illegal and deceptive conduct in connection with” the university’s operation. A few weeks later, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering whether to prosecute Trump and his university for pulling a scam and ripping off students across several states.

Three days later, the Trump Foundation donated $25,000 to And Justice for All, a pro-Bondi group supporting her 2014 reelection. Not only did Bondi decide not to investigate Trump, she also endorsed him for president last week.

On Monday, CREW filed an IRS complaint against Trump Foundation for making an illegal political donation and failing to disclose the contribution to the IRS. Due to the fact that Trump Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation, it is prohibited from contributing to political organizations. After making the illegal donation, Trump Foundation falsely claimed it did not donate $25,000 to And Justice for All, a section 527 political organization, on its tax return.

“The rules are clear: a tax-exempt charitable foundation cannot support a political group,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder asserted. “The apparent failure to tell the IRS about this political activity makes matters worse and is something we’ve seen too many organizations doing lately.”

A March 30, 1998, Associated Press Release shed unexpected light on questionable ACS expenditures on lobbying. National vice president for federal and state governmental relations Linda Hay Crawford admitted that over the last year, the Society used ten of its own senior employees on direct lobbying. For legal and other help, it hired the lobbying firm of Hogan & Hartson, whose roster included former House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-IL). The lobbying also included $30,000 donations to Democratic and Republican governors' associations. "We wanted to look like players and be players," explained Crawford. This practice, however, had been sharply challenged. An Associated Press release quoted the national Charities Information Bureau as then stating, it "does not know of any other charity that makes contributions to political parties."

Not surprisingly, tax experts warned that these contributions could be illegal, as charities are not allowed to make political donations. Marcus Owens, director of the IRS Exempt Organization Division, also warned that, "The bottom line is campaign contributions will jeopardize a charity's tax exempt status." This warning still remains unheeded.

-- American Cancer Society: More Interested in Accumulating Wealth Than Saving Lives, by Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.


According to Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump Organization and the longtime treasurer of Trump’s foundation, a clerk mistakenly made the $25,000 political donation from Trump’s charity instead of his personal funds. Weisselberg accused the clerk of writing a check to another nonprofit with the same name in Utah, but the Utah-based And Justice for All told The Washington Post that they never received any money from Trump.

Weisselberg was unable to explain how the $25,000 ended up in the pro-Bondi group’s account.

“It must have gone, I guess, to Pam Bondi,” Weisselberg told The Washington Post. “We spoke to our accountants, our tax attorneys in Washington, and they say these things happen all the time.”

According to Weisselberg, Trump’s accounting firm mistakenly listed the $25,000 political donation to a Kansas-based nonprofit with the same name. A spokeswoman for the Kansas group, which trains antiabortion activists, recently confirmed that it had also not received the money.

Although Trump’s camp has confessed to making a series of mistakes, they refuse to admit that the presidential candidate illegally bribed a state attorney general capable of prosecuting him for fraud and purposely hid the $25,000 bribe from the IRS. Instead of arguing Trump’s innocence, his campaign is attempting to plead incompetence over corruption. Incapable of running a university or a charity without repeated violations of the law, Trump clearly does not possess the ability to run a country.

“The IRS needs to look into this,” Bookbinder asserted. “It is a serious problem if charitable foundations are used to influence politics.”
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Re: Trump Accused of Illegally Bribing State Attorney Genera

Postby admin » Wed Jun 08, 2016 10:39 pm

Florida Attorney General Caught Lying and Requesting Potential Bribe From Trump
by Andrew Emett
June 7, 2016

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Despite the fact that Bondi’s office received more than 20 consumer complaints against Trump University and its affiliates, Bondi reported only receiving one complaint when she terminated the investigation into Trump.

Receiving consumer complaints from former Trump University students, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi considered launching an investigation into the allegations of fraud around the same period when she personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump. According to a recent Associated Press investigation, a spokesman for Bondi admitted the attorney general had terminated the fraud investigation and later endorsed Trump for president after a pro-Bondi group illegally received a $25,000 donation from The Donald J. Trump Foundation, which failed to file the illicit political contribution with the IRS.

On August 25, 2013, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued Donald Trump, the Trump Entrepreneur Institute (formerly Trump University), and Trump University’s former president “for engaging in persistent fraudulent, illegal and deceptive conduct in connection with” the university’s operation. A few weeks later, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering whether to prosecute Trump and his university for pulling a scam and ripping off students across several states.

A few days later, the Trump Foundation donated $25,000 to And Justice for All, a pro-Bondi group supporting her 2014 reelection. Due to the fact that Trump Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation, it is prohibited from contributing to political organizations. After making the illegal donation, Trump Foundation falsely claimed it did not donate $25,000 to And Justice for All, a section 527 political organization, on its tax return.

In addition to the Trump Foundation’s illicit contribution, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, also donated $500 to Bondi. A year later, she contributed $25,000 the Republican Party of Florida.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Bondi spokesman Marc Reichelderfer told AP that Bondi spoke with Trump “several weeks” before announcing a possible fraud lawsuit against him. Although Reichelderfer claims that Bondi had been unaware of the dozens of consumer complaints that her office had received against Trump University and its affiliates when she requested the political donation, her office falsely claimed that they did not consider combining complaints against Trump University and Trump Institute.

Internal emails revealed that Bondi’s staff did combine the complaints together, just as the New York Attorney General’s office had done.

Despite the fact that Bondi’s office received more than 20 consumer complaints against Trump University and its affiliates for defrauding as much as $35,000 per person, Bondi reported only receiving one complaint when she terminated the investigation into Trump. Instead of avoiding the fact that his foundation illegally donated $25,000 to support an attorney general responsible for investigating him, Trump boasted at an Iowa rally in January, “When I want something, I get it. When I call, they kiss my ass. It’s true.”

Besides Bondi, then-Texas Attorney Greg Abbott later received $35,000 from Trump after dismissing a lawsuit against Trump University in 2010. Both Bondi and Abbott, who is now the governor of Texas, have endorsed Trump for president.
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Re: Trump Accused of Illegally Bribing State Attorney Genera

Postby admin » Fri Jul 01, 2016 5:04 am

Letter to The Hon. Governor Richard Scott
by J. Whitfield Larrabee
June 9, 2016

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LAW OFFICES OF
J. WHITFIELD LARRABEE
TRIAL AND APPELLATE LAWYERS
251 HARVARD STREET, SUITE 9
BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS 02445
TELEPHONE: (617) 566-3670
FACSIMILE: (617) 507-6435
JW.LARRABEE@VERIZON.NET

June 9, 2016

The Honorable Governor Richard Scott
Executive Office of Governor Rick Scott
400 S Monroe St
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Re: Appointment of Independent Counsel To Investigate Attorney General Pamela Bondi

Dear Governor Scott:

In accordance with Article IV(1)(b) of the Florida Constitution, I request that you appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations that Attorney General Pamela Bondi misused her public position in violation of Florida Statute ch. 112.313 or in violation of other state and federal laws. Florida Statute ch. 112.313(6), which provides: “No public officer, employee of an agency, or local government attorney shall corruptly use or attempt to use his or her official position or any property or resource which may be within his or her trust, or perform his or her official duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself, herself, or others.” There is probable cause to investigate Attorney General Bondi based on her solicitation and acceptance of an illegal campaign contribution in the amount of $25,000 from the Trump Foundation at a time when complaints against the Trump Foundation for fraud and unfair business practices were active at the Attorney General’s office. By soliciting and accepting a campaign contribution from Donald Trump at a time when Trump University and related entities were subject to complaints and investigation by the Attorney General’s office, and electing shortly thereafter to forgo prosecuting Trump, the Attorney General appears to have created a conflict of interest and potentially may have corruptly used her office.

I also request that the independent counsel be appointed to investigate whether Attorney General Bondi violated Florida’s campaign finance laws, including Florida Statute ch. 106.08, Sec. 5(a)(b). Florida Statute ch. 106.08, Sec. 5(a)(b), provides that: “Candidates, political committees, affiliated party committees, and political parties may not solicit contributions from any religious, charitable, civic, or other causes or organizations established primarily for the public good.” By soliciting and accepting a political contribution from the Trump Foundation, a public charity, the Attorney General appears to have violated ch. 106.08, Sec. 5(a)(b) and federal laws prohibiting public charities from making campaign contributions. I also ask that the independent counsel investigate whether Attorney General Bond or Donald Trump violated or engaged in a conspiracy to violate any state or federal laws.

The circumstances justifying the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate Attorney General Bondi are similar to the circumstances that led Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin to appoint an independent investigator to Attorney General Bill Sorrell. On May 8, 2015, Governor Shumlin appointed an independent counsel to investigate whether Vermont’s Attorney General violated campaign finance laws.

Because Attorney General Bondi cannot investigate herself, there is a need for an independent and impartial inquiry. The object of the inquiry should be to determine whether civil or criminal charges should be filed with a court. The independent counsel should prepare a report of his or her investigation and make that report available to the public.

Enclosed are sworn complaints that I have filed with the Commission on Ethics, the Division of Elections and the Florida Bar regarding Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

Thank you for your time and consideration of these matters.

Very truly yours,

J. Whitfield Larrabee
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Re: Trump Accused of Illegally Bribing State Attorney Genera

Postby admin » Tue Oct 04, 2016 10:41 pm

Trump's charity claims could violate fraud laws. He could be held liable if he failed to fulfill promises to donate proceeds from his book 'Crippled America.'
by Ben Schreckinger
06/20/16

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If Donald Trump’s claims that certain of his commercial ventures benefit charity are untrue, he could be held liable under Section 349 of New York’s General Business Law, which forbids deceptive business acts and practices, as well as under charitable solicitation laws, according to legal experts.

In promoting products as varied as Trump University, Trump Vodka, a Trump board game and his latest book, “Crippled America,” the businessman has declared that the proceeds would go to charity. None of Trump’s proceeds from Trump University have gone to charity, and only a few hundred dollars of charitable giving related to Trump Vodka has been accounted for. News organizations have been unable to verify his other claims, and his representatives have been unwilling to provide more information about them or even to confirm them.

While lawyers say Trump could be liable in a number of states for false claims, the official most likely to take up the matter would be Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of New York, where Trump resides and is already the defendant in a consumer fraud case brought by the state over Trump University.

Referring to Trump’s claims about his “Crippled America” book profits, a spokesman for Schneiderman’s office said that the law against deceptive business practices was a more likely avenue of pursuit than the charitable solicitation law. But he added that lawyers at the attorney general’s office had not yet decided whether to look into the matter.

In recent weeks, Trump has come under fire for exaggerating the amount of money he raised for veterans at a campaign event in January and for donating much of that money only after reporters began asking questions about it. A state AG investigation of Trump’s other claims of charitable giving would keep the issue alive and burden the presumptive Republican nominee — already embroiled in a number of lawsuits — with another legal headache.

At least one congressman from New York says Schneiderman should investigate Trump’s claims about “Crippled America.”

“To the extent jurisdiction exists, it seems appropriate that the attorney general should examine whether Trump’s fraudulent schemes extend to his book-promotion activity,” Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries told POLITICO.

Neither Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, nor Alan Garten, general counsel of the Trump Organization, responded to multiple requests for comment.

At an October campaign stop in Iowa, Trump plugged the upcoming release of the book, saying, “With everything else I’m writing books. This was the last thing. But it was a lot of money that’s going to go to charity, and frankly, I think the title is amazing.”

That same day, Trump’s director of social media, Dan Scavino, tweeted, “Proceeds of @realDonaldTrump's book, ‘Crippled America’ (coming soon) will be going to charity. #Trump2016 #MakeAmericaGreatAgain.” Scavino did not respond to a request for comment.

At a press conference tied to the book’s release at Trump Tower in New York last November, Trump said, “The profits of my book? I’m giving them away to a lot of different people, including the vets.”

So far, Trump has made somewhere from $1 million to $5 million in royalties on the book, according to a personal financial disclosure filed last month with the FEC, but Hicks did not respond to repeated questions about whether any of the proceeds went to charity and no donation has been publicized.

If Trump fails to follow through on the statements made by him and his employee, he could be running afoul of the law, according to James Fishman, an emeritus professor of law at Pace University with expertise in non-profit organizations. “In terms of promising to give money to charities, that can be looked at as fraud if he has gotten people to contribute on that basis,” Fishman said.

The charity claims made their way into numerous news reports, social media posts and online reader reviews of the book. “Thank You For Donating Proceeds To Vet Charities!!!” reads the subject line of one review on Amazon. “Proceeds to charity GREAT BOOK!” proclaims another.

A Facebook page set up to promote the book includes a post that reads, "’I just started reading this and it is a great book already and I'm glad you are donating the proceeds to charity!’ - Joe (Unsolicited Amazon Testimonial).”

A Trump fan Facebook group promoted a link for pre-ordering the book this way: “Trump has just went live with the ‘pre-orders’ of his brand new book, 'Crippled America'!! Trumps campaign manager also confirmed that the proceeds for the book go directly to CHARITY! Support the cause, get educated, and help us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Secure your copy by pre-ordering today.”

“In general you can’t promote a book by saying the benefits will go to charity when that’s false, and that’s where general consumer protection laws would come in,” said Dan Kurtz, a former assistant attorney general of New York in charge of the state’s Charities Bureau.

Kurtz added that Trump might also be subject to New York’s charitable solicitation laws. Those regulations generally apply to instances where a business markets its goods as benefiting a particular charitable organization, but Kurtz said Trump’s vaguer marketing claims arguably also fall under that law as well.

Kurtz said that the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, might be “on the hook” as well for claims Trump made. A spokesman for the publisher declined to comment on the record.

“Crippled America” is not the only money-making venture that Trump has publicized as benefiting charity. He has also claimed that proceeds or profits from Trump University, Trump Vodka, “The Art of the Deal” and a Trump board game would benefit charity.

Promoting Trump Vodka in 2006, Trump told Larry King, “I'm giving the money to charity.” But the only apparent donation related to Trump Vodka is a “few hundred dollars” given to a group supporting Walter Reed Hospital in connection with a specific promotion, as reported by CNN last month.

Trump marketed Trump University as a charitable venture and said he would give any money he made off of it to charity, but he has not given money from it to charity, as Time reported in November. Trump’s lawyer told Time that the New York billionaire transferred the $5 million he made from Trump University, which is embroiled in multiple fraud lawsuits, back to the business when it landed in legal trouble.

Kurtz said that while older marketing claims of charitable giving, if false, might be too stale to pursue on their own, they would be relevant to more recent cases, like that of “Crippled America.”

“If somebody could demonstrate there’s a pattern, even if the claims themselves aren’t actionable, it shows the propensity to do it,” he said. “It reinforces the case.”
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