NY Agency Issues Subpoena to Trump Organization's Insurance Broker
The subpoena was issued less than a week after Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, testified before members of Congress that the Trump Organization had previously provided inflated assets to an insurance company.
March 05, 2019 at 07:39 PM
4 minute read
The Trump Organization's insurance broker, Aon plc, received a subpoena from the New York Department of Financial Services this week as the agency joins a number of entities in the state taking a closer look at President Donald Trump's business dealings and inner circle, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The subpoena was issued less than a week after Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, testified before members of Congress that the Trump Organization had previously provided inflated assets to an insurance company.
The spokeswoman for Aon declined to comment on the specifics of the subpoena, but said they intend to cooperate with the request, rather than seek to quash it.
“We can confirm that we received a subpoena from the New York State Department of Financial Services and, as is our policy, we intend to cooperate with all regulatory bodies,” said Donna Mirandola, spokeswoman for Aon. “We do not comment on specific client matters.”
Representatives for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoena. A spokesman for the state Department of Financial Services declined to confirm the news, which was first reported Tuesday afternoon by the New York Times.
The subpoena could lead to a few different outcomes for the Trump Organization if the information provided by Aon yields any tangible results that would corroborate Cohen's testimony for state regulators.
The inquiry could result in regulatory actions imposed by DFS, which oversees the state's banking and insurance industries.The agency itself can't bring litigation or prosecute individuals as part of an investigation.
It can, however, refer its findings to the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James. That referral would then allow James' office to launch its own inquiry into the Trump Organization's financial dealings. The agency could also refer its findings to a local district attorney.
The attorney general's office, under state law, can't launch its own criminal probe into the Trump Organization without a referral from an appropriate government agency. That referral could then be used by the office to launch its own investigation into the Trump Organization, using the information already gleaned from DFS.
Such an inquiry could result in criminal charges against employees at the Trump Organization, which would be determined based on the facts of the investigation. The attorney general's office could also bring civil litigation against the organization if grounds to bring such a suit exist.
It wouldn't be the first time the New York Attorney General's Office has been involved in litigation directed at Trump and his business. The office filed a lawsuit last year against the Trump Foundation, the charitable organization launched by the president more than three decades ago.
The lawsuit, which is ongoing, seeks $2.8 million in restitution after employees of the foundation allegedly colluded with officials from Trump's presidential campaign to host a televised fundraiser for veterans groups just days before the Iowa caucuses. The litigation also seeks to temporarily ban Trump and his children from serving on the board of a nonprofit organization in New York.
The state Department of Taxation and Finance has also launched two separate probes involving Trump and the foundation.
The first, revealed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this year, is looking at whether anyone at the Trump Foundation should face criminal charges over the misconduct alleged by the attorney general's lawsuit. The second has sought to investigate claims of tax fraud alleged against Trump in a New York Times article earlier this year. Neither has resulted in criminal charges from the attorney general's office.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is also said to have prepared a state criminal case against Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager who was convicted last year on federal charges of financial fraud.
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