Here Are The Trump Projects Where Ivanka And Her Dad Misled Buyers

US President Donald Trump tours an advanced manufacturing lab with his daughter, Ivanka Trump (L), at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa, July 26, 2018. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit s... US President Donald Trump tours an advanced manufacturing lab with his daughter, Ivanka Trump (L), at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa, July 26, 2018. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Read the Trumps’ false statements — and what the actual facts were.

A pattern of deception ran through the Trumps’ real estate deals since the mid-2000s. Not only were the Trumps more than the mere licensors they claimed to be, extracting millions in fees from nearly every facet of these projects, but they often misled buyers and investors on key information — such as the level of sales and the Trumps’ role and investment in the deals. (Read ProPublica’s full investigation.) The Trump Organization did not respond to our questions, and the White House didn’t have a comment.

Projects Where a Trump Family Member Overstated Sales Numbers

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Claim: Donald Trump claimed $365 million in sales in a 2007 letter to The Wall Street Journal.

Reality: Trump reported $290 million in a 2009 project audit.

Result: Never built.

FORT LAUDERDALE

Claim: Trump announced the hotel/condo was “pretty much sold out” in April 2006, according to a broker who attended the presentation.

Reality: 62 percent of units were sold as of July 2006, according to bank records that emerged in a court case.

Result: Entered foreclosure. Trump’s name removed before construction completed.

LAS VEGAS

Claim: Condos “sold out,” Trump told The Associated Press in 2005

Reality: About 25 percent of units were sold by 2011, according to press accounts.

Result: Built.

PANAMA

Claim: “It’s a 1,000-unit building, we’ve sold over 90 percent of it,” Ivanka told Portfolio in 2008.

Reality: As of three months later, 79 percent of the units were pre-sold, according to Moody’s.

Result: Built, but went bankrupt; Trump name removed.

SOHO

Claim: In 2008, Ivanka told reporters that 60 percent of units had sold.

Reality:A Trump partner’s affidavit revealed that 15 percent had been sold at the time.

Result: Built, but went bankrupt; Trump name removed.

TAMPA

Claim: The building “sold out,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal in 2007.

Reality: The developers failed to sell a minimum of 70 percent of units, according to a Trump company letter that year, which deemed that a violation of its contract.

Result: Never built.

TORONTO

Claim: In a 2009 interview, Ivanka referred to the property as “virtually sold out.”

Reality: 24.8 percent of units had sold, according to a 2016 bankruptcy filing by the developers.

Result: Built, but went bankrupt; Trump name removed.

Projects Where the Trumps Suggested They Were Developers, Partners or Equity Owners (They Weren’t)

BAJA

More than 50 buyers claimed Ivanka said the Trump Organization was a developer on the project at a 2007 sales event, according to a lawsuit quoted by Univision.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

“I am excited to be building Trump at Cap Cana,” Trump was quoted saying in a 2007 press release, according to Univision.

FORT LAUDERDALE

Trump called the hotel and tower “my latest development” in a letter announcing the project.

REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA

“TRUMP INVESTS IN GEORGIA” read banners for the project, according to The New Yorker. Asked by a Fox anchor what he was “investing in,” Trump responded, “I’m doing a big development” in Georgia.

PANAMA

“I am honored to develop this extraordinary high rise with my partner Roger Khafif of the K Group,” Trump said in a 2009 marketing statement.

TAMPA

Trump claimed an ownership stake in a news article at the time, stating it was less than 50 percent, then adding: “But it’s a substantial stake. I recently said I’d like to increase my stake but when they’re selling that well they don’t let you do that.”

WAIKIKI

In the final episode of season five of “The Apprentice,” Trump announced the project on national TV, saying “that’s why I’m building the magnificent Trump Hotel and Tower Waikiki.” In 2007, he told The Wall Street Journal: “This building is largely owned by me and being developed by me.”

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.

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Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for ghost ghost says:

    So, all of them?

  2. Lying Liar says what?

    And he tells them not to believe what they see and hear. It amazes me that people believe a single word coming out of his mouth.

  3. Avatar for tsp tsp says:

    It’s pathological. It runs in the family.

  4. Avatar for davidn davidn says:

    That is the more pertinent questions, did the Trumps do ANY straight up, honest deals?

  5. Here Are The Trump Projects Where Ivanka And Her Dad Misled Buyers

    I’d have preferred the much, much, much shorter list of projects where they did not.

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