In tears, ex-Trump exec testifies he gave up company job because he was tired of legal woes

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In a poignant moment during his testimony, former corporate controller of the Trump Organization, Jeffrey McConney, revealed that he decided to leave his long-held position due to the relentless legal challenges facing the company. As he took the witness stand for the fourth time in the span of six weeks during the civil fraud trial involving former President Donald Trump, McConney’s emotions were visibly raw.

During the proceedings, defense attorney Jesus M. Suarez posed the question of why McConney was no longer employed by the Trump Organization. In response, McConney paused, removed his glasses, and raised his hands, his eyes moist with tears. He then embarked on a heartfelt reflection on his more than 35 years of dedicated service to the company.

McConney expressed his pride in the work he had done but went on to recount the numerous investigations and legal proceedings he had been involved in, often being called upon as a witness or being served with subpoenas.

“I just wanted to relax and stop being accused of misrepresenting assets for the company that I loved working for. I’m sorry,” he testified, his voice quivering with emotion.

McConney is among the defendants in the trial, where New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that Trump and company executives artificially inflated his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and insurance.

Trump, the former Republican presidential frontrunner, has consistently characterized the case as a political attack by James, a Democrat. He has argued that the documents actually underestimated his net worth and pointed out disclaimers on the statements indicating that they were unaudited and that recipients should verify the figures themselves.

Judge Arthur Engoron, presiding over the non-jury trial, has already ruled that Trump and other defendants engaged in fraud. The trial’s remaining claims concern conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records.

James seeks over $300 million in penalties and aims to ban Trump from conducting business in New York, in addition to Engoron’s pretrial order that placed some of Trump’s properties under a receiver’s control, a decision currently under appeal.

McConney, who served as controller at the Trump Organization from 1987 until February of the current year, testified that he retired and is receiving $500,000 in severance payments. His retirement followed his grant of immunity to testify for the prosecution in the Trump Organization’s New York criminal tax fraud trial, where he admitted to breaking the law to help fellow executives evade taxes on company-paid benefits. The company was convicted and is appealing the verdict.

Throughout the ongoing civil trial, McConney has been called upon to provide insights into how he and other executives arrived at asset valuations that James’ office claims were significantly inflated but which McConney insists were legitimate.

For instance, he disclosed that the valuation of Trump’s Trump Tower penthouse was boosted by $20 million, partially due to the value of Trump’s celebrity. Additionally, the triplex was valued for years at three times its actual size, a discrepancy McConney attributed to information from a colleague whom he believed had a better understanding of the property.

McConney also mentioned that he valued Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida as if it could be sold as a private home, despite an agreement with the National Trust for Historic Preservation stipulating that the property should remain a club, a designation that conferred tax advantages to Trump. In contrast, the former president asserted in his own testimony that he retained the right to re-designate the property as a home, a stance the trust declined to comment on.

McConney revealed that the Trump Organization did not always adhere strictly to appraisals when determining property values for Trump’s financial statements, emphasizing that “just because there’s an appraisal done doesn’t mean it properly reflects the value of that property.”

He indicated that Trump personally reviewed the financial statements before finalization, but Trump stated that he would occasionally provide suggestions rather than a comprehensive review.

McConney emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to determining a property’s value and argued that the basis for his evaluations was transparent to the outside accountants responsible for preparing the financial statements. However, one of those accountants, Donald Bender, testified previously that the Trump Organization did not always provide all the necessary information.

McConney concluded his testimony by asserting that he never intended to mislead anyone or provide inaccurate information. He defended the valuations, stating that numbers alone did not fully represent the true worth of the assets. Frustrated by the constant scrutiny and negative comments, he ultimately made the difficult decision to leave his position.

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Contributions to this article by Big Big News writer Michael R. Sisak.

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More about Trump Organization Legal Woes

• Donald Trump’s former corporate controller testifies in civil fraud trial
• New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges fraud by Trump Organization
• Details of Jeffrey McConney’s testimony in the trial
• Background on the criminal tax fraud trial involving the Trump Organization
• Potential consequences of the civil fraud trial for Donald Trump