Additionally, the Trump Organization arbitrarily added a brand premium (15% or 30%
depending on the year) despite asserting in the statements that no brand premium was
included. In 2021, when the club switched to using a combination of fixed assets and
income, the valuation fell by $17 million from the 2020 figure.
Trump National Golf Course Hudson Valley, Hopewell Junction, New York
The Trump organization employed the fixed-asset, unsold membership, membership
deposit, and brand premium schemes. As an example, in 2010, the initiation fee was
$10,000 and most fees were waived for new members, yet the Trump Organization
valued over 80% of the unsold memberships at prices ranging between $15,000 to
$25,000. The Trump Organization included the full face value of refundable membership
deposits of $1,235,619 into the purchase price of the club, despite declaring in the
statements that liability for the membership deposits was zero dollars. Additionally, from
2013 to 2020, the Trump Organization employed the brand premium scheme, even
though the statements claimed that brand premiums were not included. As with other
clubs, in 2021, once the property was valued using a combination of fixed assets and
income, the club valuation fell by almost $4 million from the 2020 figure.
Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, Jupiter, Florida
At this property, Mr. Trump utilized the fixed-asset, membership deposit, and brand
premium schemes. Mr. Trump purchased this golf course in Jupiter, Florida for $5
million. Less than a year later, Mr. Trump valued the same property at $62 million on his
2013 statement, a markup of 1,100%. For every year from 2013 to 2020, much of the
value attributed to Jupiter was fraudulently inflated. The bulk of the fraudulent value was
based on the membership deposit scheme, using an inflated purchase price from the
purported assumption of “refundable” membership liabilities. Mr. Trump claimed to have
paid $46 million for the club, consisting of $5 million in cash he actually paid and $41
million in assumed membership liabilities. In the statements, Mr. Trump did not disclose
the inclusion of those inflated liabilities in the price of the club and in fact took the
opposite position that his potential liability for those membership deposits was zero.
Additionally, the Trump Organization overstated the value of this golf course by adding
an additional 30% for the Trump brand in 2013 and 2014 and 15% from 2015 through
2020 – even though the statements disclaimed that any of the valuations included a
brand premium.
Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
The Trump Organization falsely inflated the value of this property — consisting of a
residential development and a golf club — by inflating the value for a substantial
number of potential lots for sale in the areas around the golf course and, starting in
2013 to 2020, applying an undisclosed 30% brand premium that inflated the value of the
golf club. The brand premium scheme created an almost $50 million increase in the
valuation of the golf club in the 2013 statement. Additionally, the Trump Organization
donated over 16 lots comprising the club’s driving range and putting green as a
conservation easement, which would preclude any development, but leave the driving
range and putting green available to golfers. The donation’s $25 million value was
reached through tactics that fraudulently manipulated the valuation, including ignoring a