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The Trump Organization and two brothers from the Bay Area made a fortune from a $2,300-plus fake condo complex built by a Florida developer.
The brothers, who are both prominent businesspeople, sold their stakes in the complex to their brother-in-law in exchange for cash, according to court documents.
The Bong brothers, along with Donald Trump Jr., are also defendants in a lawsuit alleging they sold a stake in the project for $2 million.
The Trump project was built to help build Trump Tower in New York, but its real-estate developers used it as a staging area for construction of a Trump-branded tower in Miami and a luxury condo complex in Fort Lauderdale.
The tower, which was completed in 2017, is the centerpiece of Trump’s project to build a massive new golf course and luxury condo complexes on the former site of the Palm Beach Convention Center.
The court documents, obtained by The Washington Times, allege the brothers sold their stake in a $3.3 million condo complex to the Bongs in February 2018, when Trump announced the Boca Raton project was finished.
The documents allege that after the brothers and Trump purchased their stake, the brothers used the proceeds to pay for a real estate loan for $1.7 million from Boca Real Estate Bank.
The bank said in a statement that it had no information to share about the allegations.
The case was first reported by the Miami Herald.
The Florida Attorney General’s Office declined to comment.
The two brothers said in court documents that they did not know they were involved in a scheme to defraud a bank.
The attorneys for the Bocas did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the court documents: Trump and two of his companies were in a position to gain access to the property through a joint venture that Trump owned, but the project was not completed.
The properties’ developer, Florida-based Boca Realty Partners, paid $1,000 to $3,000 for a condo unit in the building to be used as a parking lot for the golf course, according the court filings.
Trump purchased the unit for $3 million in September 2018, and paid $2 for it to Boca, the court filing said.
Trump then sold the unit to his brother, the Bontos, and they sold the condo to Trump’s son, Eric, who then paid $3 for it in March 2019.
After Trump purchased Bonto Bay’s condo unit, he used the money to buy another unit in Boca that he then sold to his wife, Ivanka Trump, who paid $500,000 in cash to Trump to finance the project, according court documents obtained by the newspaper.
A spokesman for Boca Property Bank said it had not received any information about the Bonsos’ actions.
Trump and Eric Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed in Miami federal court by the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The American Civil Liberty Union has filed several lawsuits alleging fraud and tax fraud by Trump and his businesses.
The government is investigating the claims, and a judge has ordered the BOCs to turn over all financial records.
The defendants declined to answer questions about their legal action, but Trump has said he is not personally liable for the project’s costs and has said that he will be taking steps to mitigate the damage caused by the fraud.
Trump has defended his project, saying it will generate billions of dollars in economic growth and help the U.S. become a “global leader in the energy, manufacturing and financial services industries.”
Trump has also said he has never used real estate as a vehicle to finance projects.
The real-life Boca tower is being built in Fort Myers, Fla., and will include a luxury resort, an office tower and condos.
The project is being financed through $20 billion in federal loans.
