How the New York Times uncovered the so-called trump tax evasion schemes of the Trump family

Two years ago, Susanne Craig received an anonymous mail envelope from the Trump Tower. Inside was a copy of Donald Trump's 1995 income tax return.

The letter triggered an investigation by Craig and his colleagues, David Barstow and Russ Buettner, who revealed that Trump had received at least $ 413 million from his father, Fred Trump, over the decades, including dubious tax evasion. including outright fraud.

The Times' 15,000-word report contradicts Trump's portrayal of himself as a self-taught billionaire who began with a $ 1 million loan only from his father.

The president, his lawyer and the White House have all issued statements denying the newspaper's findings. The New York State Tax Department told The Associated Press that it was reviewing the allegations and "vigorously pursuing all appropriate investigative pathways".

Craig spoke to As it happens Carol's host off on how the story unfolded. Here is part of their conversation.

Just describe what you have accomplished in recent years, what you have discovered since [2016]?

We just continued to push the finances and continue to dig. We also reviewed tens of thousands of public documents and also had access to thousands of confidential documents from Fred Trump's real estate empire.

This included company documents, financial documents, tax returns, personal income tax returns, personal bank records, and financial information from partnerships and companies with President Donald Trump as a partner.

How would you characterize the accusations that you bear here regarding Donald Trump, his family and the family empire?

On the basis of the documents we examined, we found several cases in which Donald Trump had participated in fraudulent tax schemes.

What evidence do you have for that?

We have bank records, tax returns and financial documents from dozens of companies controlled by Fred Trump, as well as information about partnerships with Donald Trump.

Can we talk about what happened with the huge number of loans that Donald Trump received from his father and that reached millions of dollars. How did he cover for those?

We found in the documents … at least $ 61 million in loans that Fred Trump gave Donald Trump.

We also found that Donald Trump had received more than $ 400 million from his father during his lifetime.

Supply and maintenance of all counties. Can you tell us what it was?

Fred Trump was getting older, in his 80s. He not only owned a large number of buildings in the New York area, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but he also had a huge amount of money. # 39; money.

And Donald Trump's children – Donald Trump and his brothers and sisters – realized that at some point he would die and that this money would be subject to a 55% inheritance tax.

So, what Trump's kids did, it's pretty amazing.

For his buildings, [Fred Trump] would buy everything from refrigerators and stoves to boilers, to rooftop materials.

And then one day, a company called All County was created and suddenly, All County started doing all the shopping for Fred Trump's empire.

They would pay $ 300 for new refrigerators, $ 300 for a new stove, $ 500 for a new air conditioner. But then, they would create a separate receipt and mark it between 25 and 50% and send it to Fred.

And the difference in this regard was pocketed by All County, which was controlled by Donald Trump and his siblings.

This allowed them to extract huge sums of money – millions of dollars in cash – from the paternal empire so that it would not be subject to the tax on it. the death.

These stuffed bills were used to justify rent increases in rent-regulated buildings.

Yeah, it's amazing. They then turned around and submitted them to city and state officials to justify the rent increases.

So, these fraudulent activities that you discovered in this investigation … how much is it really directed to Donald Trump?

Donald was a shareholder in All County. He was aware of what was happening and he participated in its creation.

The way Trump's lawyer responded to your inquiry, Charles Harder … is very interesting, the wording of it. "The business was managed by [other Trump] Family members who are not experts "and who have relied on" licensed professionals to ensure full compliance with the law. "

Our reports led us to believe that he participated in it and that he knew it, and we know that he benefited financially.

Donald Trump is presented, would have been a man made of himself. … How does this fit with your story about fraud about how Donald Trump benefited, took advantage of this mythology?

Over the years, he has benefited greatly from this repeated lie over and over again.

I mean, it's a spectacular con.

He appropriated his father's fortune, and then, throughout his life, he began to diminish his father's exploits.

This story – through the records we found in the tax returns – begins to correct that story, I think.

Written by Sheena Goodyear. Produced by Sarah Jackson.