Trump tripling size of NYC penthouse was ‘inevitable’ accounting ‘error,’ expert says at civil fraud trial

Donald Trump exaggerating the size of his Manhattan penthouse on financial filings was merely the type of “error” that is “inevitable” in accounting, an NYU professor testifying in the former president’s defense claimed at his civil fraud trial Thursday.

Eli Bartov — a professor of accounting at New York University — said that when the former president tripled the square footage of his Trump Tower triplex on annual statements of financial condition it was just an “error in calculation.”

“My main finding is there is no evidence whatsoever for any accounting fraud,” Bartov said in Manhattan Supreme Court – as Trump, 77,watched closely from the defense table.

New York Attorney General Letitia James — who is prosecuting the $250 million civil fraud case against Trump — alleges that from 2011 to 2015, the real estate tycoon claimed the pad was 30,000 square feet, rather than its true size of 11,000 square feet, resulting in a valuation increase of 400%.

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In 2015, Trump valued the property at $327 million based on the false size.

The frontrunner GOP presidential candidate looked on intently during Bartov’s favorable testimony, as the professor said: “Errors like that are not unusual,” and added that in accounting they are actually “inevitable.”

“Fraud in accounting is an intentional misstatement rather than an accidental mistake,” Bartov said, adding that the AG’s case has “no merit.”

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Bartov said “value” in the real estate world is inherently a subjective process.

“If somebody tells you that an evaluation is objective, this person has to have their head examined,” he said.

When the professor was shown Trump’s 2011 statement of financial condition and asked what the numbers on the form meant, Bartov replied, “Nothing!”

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The testimony got heated when Kevin Wallace, a lawyer with the AG’s office, objected at one point, claiming Bartov was testifying about something beyond his expertise.

He called the academic’s testimony “pure speculation from someone they (Trump’s team) hired to say whatever it is they want.”

An offended Bartov shouted back, “You make up allegations that never existed!”

“I am here to tell the truth!” the professor fumed, with Trump still seated a few feet away at the defense table.

 “You ought to be ashamed of yourself for talking like that,” he added, pointing at Wallace.

The tiff prompted Justice Arthur Engoron to call an early lunch break to allow tempers to cool.

During an earlier break in the testimony, Trump told reporters that Bartov’s testimony was a win for his case.

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“This is a highly respected man,” Trump said. “I don’t know him. He’s an expert witness and he found no fraud whatsoever, he found no accounting fraud whatsoever.”

James sued Trump, his two eldest sons, the family real estate company and others last year claiming from 2011 to 2021 Trump lied on his annual statements of financial conditions, inflating his worth by billions to get better loan and insurance terms.

But Trump’s team has argued that, if it, it was a victimless crime since he always paid his loans back on time and still made the banks a lot of money.