Reaction & Commentary
Didn’t go over very well with the investment Community because we’re all asking each other who’s next wouldn’t there be many companies who would not want to do business or loan money to people like yourself or investors if they know that they can get away with fraud and there’s no recourse to protect
Them excuse me what fraud I would never invest in New York now we thought this year was the opport to come into Chicago California and New York City I have been waiting for 40 years now to invest in that Marketplace I was completely confident Steve this
Was the year to come and when that ruling happened uh it was like pencils down don’t touch it don’t go there New York attorney general Leticia James bragging today about the multi-million dollar penalty imposed on former president Donald Trump tweeting just the number her anti-trump TW Twitter followers of course celebrating it
Predictably clapping seals a move that seems more like a campaign post than that of a dispassionate just da who just wants to get to the bottom of it Shark Tank co-host Kevin o joins Me Now Kevin does does tweeting something like that make her look like you know a dispassionate
Lawman I I think the challenge with uh the aftermath of decision is twofold one one is will it stand because it’s probably not good for the environment uh in New York to attract capital for Real Estate development uh it seems a little excessive and obviously when challenged in the appell at court many
Assume that it will be adjusted downward and maybe not eliminated but be more appropriate for the fact that this was a victimless crime in the context of money’s loss there wasn’t any and so also this law was used for the first time in 75 years uh to get this outcome
And so I think that would be examined as well by the appell at court in New York I I I find it you know really what I care about you know my my kids live in New York I mean I want New York to be a
Successful State I want people to uh go there and create companies and invest in it but every day that passes the environment gets more toxic in terms of traffic of capital and remember investors don’t have to go to New York they have other choices and that’s clearly what happening is PE are saying
Why go there when there’s this kind of risk and everybody’s asking this question who’s next because that’s the the challenge to to to make to Quil down the concerns people have not just domestically this is a global story this is about the competitiv of of New York
State versus other states and and right now it’s it’s it’s not looking good for New York but I what I I don’t think this case is about Trump anymore at all because you heard the governor of New York come out yesterday and say look everybody uh don’t be scared about doing
A business in New York uh because the only people we prosecute are people like Donald Trump who don’t behave well that didn’t go over over very well with the investment Community because we’re all asking each other who’s next this was a victimless crime nobody lost any money
And a judge out of nowhere put on a $355 million penalty I mean who’s next so if you think before I I don’t want to cut you off but I hear about the the so-called victim’s crimes but the laws on the books falsification of business records in second degree issuing false
Financial statements insurance fraud conspiracy and all these different aspects of it those are actual crimes I take it your point is that these should not have been prosecuted well my point is there’s never been a case like this in 75 years everything you just listed off is done by every real estate developer
Everywhere on earth in every city this has never ever been prosecuted but here’s the real point that people in New York should concern themselves with you can put your money anywhere I’m a real estate developer well this this award um I mean just leaving the whole Trump thing out
Of it and and seeing what occurred here and I’m I’m no different than any other investor I’m shocked at this I I can’t even understand or fathom uh the the decision at all it there’s no rationale for it and so let me give you a real time uh experience I’m having regarding
This and I’m not the only one it doesn’t matter what the governor says New York was already a loser State like California is a loser State there are many loser States because of policy high taxes uncompetitive regulation it was already on the top of the list of being
A loser State I would never invest in New York now and I’m not the only person saying that and here’s a real time situation in development in real estate right now the hottest asset class is very highend data centers they cost anywhere from 2 and a half to three and
A half billion each they’re very expensive they require low power you need permits but most of the major institutions in the world need more data centers and that’s why developers like me are doing this now you need power so New York has Niagara Falls normally you’d consider that to put in one of
These facilities create 400 jobs five more jobs for each of one of those for auxiliary Services I can’t go to New York so I’m going to Oklahoma North Dakota West Virginia governor stit Kevin stit my staff have met with him Governor Bergen them same thing Governor Justice those
Are winner States they don’t do things like this I have to Syndicate that debt and all that Equity we’re talking billions of dollars here do you think any foreign institution or any private Equity Firm or any pension fund would touch New York no and that’s why New Yorkers should be concerned the fine
People of New York should ask themselves why are we such a loser State how are we going to attract business it’s not just the existing businesses that are fleeing out to Texas and Florida what about new money like this that I’m talking about like a $4 billion data center not a
Chance I would put that in New York zero probability never and so they’ve got a lot of work to do to find themselves getting out of this situation this has all occurred post pandemic winner States versus loser States look at Tennessee right now fastest growing city in America Nashville winner State good
Policy competitive taxes you’ve got to start thinking about this in the context of winners and losers New York Mega loser State some of President Trump’s supporters are pushing back against what they see as an unfair justice system threatening a boycott that could have a major impact on the country’s largest
City are seeing now from truck drivers New York New York City and that verdict is this just a one-off or is this a sign of what’s potentially to come down the line here yeah this is not a one-off this is now legal precedent I mean you
Know Lati James and the AG’s office and this judge have now set precedent that is probably disturbing a lot of the New York real estate developers because they’re wondering we need to go back over this right because at the end of the day there were no victims they had
Sophisticated Banks who did their own due diligence on the claims of property value he repaid it in full plus interest there’s nobody who was a victim here and so now you have all these real estate developers who are looking at this and wondering if a republican attorney
General comes in which is not going to happen anytime soon in New York maybe a republican da someplace where they develop are they now going to be vulnerable because of this precedent so Kevin what did you think of Governor hokel saying this is like a unique one
And done because Donald Trump went too far and was so nefarious uh you guys if you’re just doing what you should be doing you have nothing to worry about but they’re very worried about it yeah we’re very worried every investor is worried because where is the victim who
Lost money this is some arbitrary decision a judge made this policy and what this says what does this say about the bar the legal bar in New York aren’t they going to question this judge what is this $355 million and there’s dollars as a as a penalty and there’s plus
Interest at 9% and there’s no victim I mean I’m sorry her her words fall on deaf ears to everybody there’s nothing she can say to justify this decision and this has nothing to do with Trump nothing to do with Trump forget about Trump this is not a trump situation this
Is a New York problem now the whole world is looking at this saying what are you doing to yourselves
