During Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York, the judge declared that the expert witness, who was paid nearly $1 million, had eroded his credibility by persistently defending the former U.S. president's business records. The judge's remarks came on Monday, as Eli Bartov, an accounting professor at New York University, had testified on December 7.
Bartov asserted that he found no indication of fraud in the financial statements of Trump's family real estate company, which the New York state's attorney general contends had inflated property values to secure advantageous loan and insurance terms.
In his testimony, Bartov revealed that he dedicated 650 hours to the case at a rate of $1,350 per hour, resulting in a total compensation of approximately $877,500. Notably, he specified that his invoices were settled by both the Trump Organization and Save America, a political action committee endorsing Trump's 2024 election campaign.
"All that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say," Justice Arthur Engoron wrote in a biting denial of several requests by Trump for the case to be decided in his favor.
"By doggedly attempting to justify every misstatement, Professor Bartov lost all credibility," Engoron wrote.
In correspondence, Bartov expressed disagreement with Engoron's assertion that the main thrust of his testimony indicated Trump's statements were "accurate in every respect." Instead, Bartov highlighted his testimony wherein he emphasized that Trump's statements included inadvertent errors.
"No expert rebutted my testimony or testified that they found fraud," Bartov said. "As to his speculation that my billing rate had anything to do with my opinion, this is my standard billing rate."
Christopher Kise, an attorney representing Trump, asserted in a statement that Engoron's ruling "reflects a complete neglect of addressing the legal aspects of the claims to be adjudicated. All that appears to matter is reaching a predetermined conclusion," Kise remarked.
The trial has primarily concentrated on assessing damages, following Engoron's earlier ruling in October that Trump and his adult sons manipulated financial statements to deceive banks and insurers. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, is pursuing $250 million in penalties and aims to bar Trump from engaging in the New York state real estate business.
Trump, a prominent contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has consistently denied any wrongdoing, characterizing the case as politically motivated.
In his concise three-page written decision, Engoron acknowledged the defense's argument that property valuations are subjective and that inaccuracies in financial statements must be "material" to constitute a legal violation. However, Engoron asserted that Trump's statements were "replete with examples of material misstatements."
Engoron emphasized, "A lie is still a lie."
The trial is scheduled for closing arguments on January 11. Separately, Trump faces four state and federal criminal indictments, including charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. He has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.
Eli Bartov's CV includes research interests as: Accounting restatements
Accounting fraud
US GAAP
Response of publicly traded securities prices to information
Earnings and expectation management
Executive compensation
Insider trading
Equity valuation
Accounting-based equity trading strategies
https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/eli-bartov
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