During the year 2011, family members of a former President were considering the purchase of a golf course in Florida. It was during this time that they were introduced to Rosemary Vrablic, a banker at Deutsche Bank. The family was in search of a loan, while Vrablic was looking to establish business relationships with high net-worth clients. This information was revealed during the New York civil fraud trial of the former President on Wednesday.
In an email sent to other bank executives in November 2011, Vrablic stated, "We are whale hunting," referring to the efforts made to attract Trump's business.
Vrablic ultimately managed the relationship with the former President and his family, which resulted in three significant loans. These loans are now at the center of a wide-ranging fraud case involving the former President, his two adult sons, and their company. The defense team argues that the bank conducted its own due diligence and independently determined that the loans were financially sound.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with the judge presiding over the case, maintains that regardless of loan performance, the former President is liable for fraud. This is due to the fact that he provided significantly inflated estimates of his net worth to the bank in order to secure more favorable loan terms.
The defense has also argued the bank was interested in fostering Trump as a client, believing it would lead to more business with him and other high-net worth individuals in his social circle. Vrablic's testimony bolstered that argument Wednesday.
Vrablic was first introduced to the family in 2011 through Ivanka Trump's husband, Jared Kushner, according to trial testimony and documents shown as exhibits. Late that year, Trump personally sent to a Deutsche Bank executive a financial statement at the center of the case, which the state says was rife with fraud.
By then, Vrablic had developed a strong relationship with Ivanka Trump, who was originally included as a defendant in the case, and who was Vrablic's "main liaison" to the Trump family. A New York appellate court dismissed claims against Ivanka Trump in June, ruling that they were barred by the state's statute of limitations.
Ivanka Trump testified on Nov. 8 that she was also interested in cultivating Vrablic.
"I had heard that Rosemary was a very formidable banker with a lot of experience and a great person to have a relationship with," Ivanka Trump testified.
A collaboration between two individuals resulted in a series of financial agreements. These deals included a $125 million loan for the acquisition of the Doral golf course in Florida, a $107 million loan for Trump's Chicago tower, along with a $45 million expansion in 2014, and a $170 million loan in 2013 for the transformation of the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C. into a hotel.
Throughout the process, one of the individuals, Vrablic, consistently expressed support for the business relationship.
In 2013, Anshu Jain, the co-CEO of Deutsche Bank at the time, had a meeting with Donald Trump at his New York tower. Ivanka Trump and other executives from the company were also present at the lunch.
Vrablic prepared a briefing for Jain before the meeting, highlighting Donald Trump's passion for golf and his influential network within the real estate industry in New York. She suggested that Jain discuss leveraging these connections for the benefit of the bank.
Ivanka Trump confirmed the friendly nature of the meeting during her testimony, mentioning that Jain encouraged them to do more business with Deutsche Bank and discussed the pending deals that Vrablic had briefed him on.
Following the meeting, Jain sent a letter to Donald Trump expressing gratitude for their discussion.
"It was a pleasure to see your delight in the build out of your family holdings, and your justified pride in having your children in the business," Jain wrote in a March 2014 letter, shown during the trial.
One email written by Ivanka Trump, shown at trial, expressed excitement at the low interest rates the company had secured through Deutsche Bank.
"It doesn't get better than this," Ivanka Trump wrote. The Trumps' attorneys have argued the excitement was mutual, and that the bank was happy with the Trump properties' performance as the loans matured.
Vrablic's testimony and exhibits shown Wednesday supported that claim.
"My direct boss, Michele Fassiola (he's Italian) would like to call you and your Dad to thank you for being such great clients and for all the business we have been doing together," Vrablic wrote to Ivanka Trump in one 2014 email. "Your family is in the Top 10 revenue generating names of Asset and Wealth Management now and he is thrilled with how it's grown."
Vrablic described continuing efforts to expand the bank's business with the Trumps until he was elected president, when the bank decided to pull back.
"They did not want to increase their exposure at that time," Vrablic said, saying the bank wanted to avoid heightened scrutiny. "It was an unprecedented situation to have a customer who was going to become president of the United States."
Trump Trial Update
Lawyers representing the Trumps have continuously requested the judge to pause the trial, arguing that Deutsche Bank's due diligence regarding Trump's finances and their satisfaction with the Trump loan relationship should be taken into consideration. However, the state's lawyers have consistently pushed back, stating that these factors are unrelated to the unresolved allegations in the case.
"They do not pertain to fraud committed against Deutsche Bank. Instead, they involve fraud aimed at creating false financial records, false financial statements, and insurance fraud," emphasized Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the New York attorney general, during a hearing on Wednesday. "Therefore, testimony from a Deutsche Bank witness would not be sufficient grounds for directing a verdict under any circumstances."
Wallace further highlighted that bankers had testified that they relied on the Trumps to provide truthful information about their finances. One former executive from Deutsche Bank, Nicholas Haigh, who assessed risk for loans to high-net-worth individuals, confirmed this on October 11th.
"I assumed that the representations of value of the assets and liabilities were generally accurate," stated Haigh.
Prior to the testimony of Vrablic, the judge, Arthur Engoron, seemed to lean towards the state's argument.
"I would like to point out that the fact that the lenders were satisfied does not mean that the statute was not violated. It also does not mean that other statutes were not violated," remarked Engoron.
