Donald Trump's 'most valuable' building is home to dozens of criminals
When facing mockery over his failed business ventures, Donald Trump has responded by touting the success of the Trump Building at 40 Wall St., his most valuable property. However, the reputation of those that dwell inside might be a little more, well, dubious.
Since Trump took over the building in 1995, Bloomberg discovered that "prosecutors have filed criminal charges against at least 29 people connected to 12 alleged scams tied to [40 Wall St.]. Nine other firms have faced serious regulatory claims. Authorities prevailed in most but not all of the cases." Additionally, "no U.S. address has been home to more of the unregistered brokerages that investors complain about, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission's current public alert list."
So what exactly are we talking about? A faked suicide? Check. A ponzi-schemer? You betcha. A penny-stock scam? Yep, there was one of those too.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A cheap way to get a 40 Wall St. address is to grab space on the 28th floor, which is broken up into small offices. The firms listed in the lobby directory for that floor include Your Trading Room, a foreign-exchange operation ordered shut by an Australian court in 2012; Asian AIM Incubator Co., which Malaysian regulators put on a list of possible scams; Stilas International Law, whose founder was banned from practicing law in Virginia; and Ero Capital Corp., run by a man convicted of credit-card fraud.Even one of the four Cushman & Wakefield brokers who handle leasing for the skyscraper is a felon. Jeffrey Lichtenberg admitted accepting a bribe in 1999 after an investigation of bid-rigging in the construction business. He declined to comment. [Bloomberg]
Bloomberg has a handy floor-by-floor breakdown of the allegations brought against Trump's 40 Wall St. tenets too, which you can see here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The longest US government shutdown in historyThe Explainer Federal employees and low-income households have been particularly affected by ‘partisan standoffs’ in Washington
-
Jeremy Hunt picks his favourite booksThe Week Recommends The former chancellor shares works by Mishal Husain, Keach Hagey, and Johan Norberg
-
Is the UAE fuelling the slaughter in Sudan?Today’s Big Question Gulf state is accused of supplying money and advanced Chinese weaponry to RSF militia behind massacres of civilians
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
