Trump accused of tax fraud in Mexico
A Mexican government official has filed federal criminal tax fraud charges against Trump in connection with Trump Ocean Resort, a project that folded in 2009.
Jaime Martínez Veloz, a former member of Mexico’s Congress who is now a mid-level official with the Mexican federal government, also sent a letter to the mayor of Tijuana, asking city hall to determine if any local regulations were violated by the failed development.
Martínez filed the criminal complaint as a private citizen. Under the Mexican legal system, private criminal complaints are filed directly to prosecutors, not to the police.
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In the letter, Martínez said he’d filed a complaint seeking for federal charges against the GOP presidential nominee so that “once legal requirements demanded by national laws are gathered, the corresponding legal action can be executed,” reported La Jornada newspaper.
The complaint alleges that the development avoided paying taxes in Mexico on pre-development sales, which reportedly topped $32.5 million. Trump’s presidential campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump and his partners, Los Angeles-based developer Irongate Wilshire and Mexican company P.B. Impulsores, allegedly collected $32.5 million from customers before giving up on the project. Trump Ocean Resort started selling the properties in 2006, but folded before construction had started in 2009 after the housing crash.
Martínez singled out Trump in the complaint, saying the slow start in construction evidenced tax fraud “by Mr. Donald Trump against the Mexican state because beyond defrauding investors he also committed fraud by not paying taxes in Mexico for the mercantile operations he took part in.”
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