Holding Powerful Organizations and Individuals Accountable
Attorney General James has spent her career guided by a simple principle: stand up to the powerful on behalf of the vulnerable. From former President Donald Trump to former Governor Andrew Cuomo, from the National Rifle Association (NRA) to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Attorney General James will never back down from a fight because no one, no matter how rich or well-connected, is above the law. In 2021, this meant taking on some of the country’s most well-connected and well-known organizations and individuals, regardless of prominence, popularity, or political views.
HOLDING POWERFUL ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS ACCOUNTABLE
Holding the Trump Organization Accountable
Attorney General James launched an investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial dealings in 2019, after Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress that Trump’s annual financial statements inflated the values of Trump’s assets to obtain favorable terms for loans and insurance coverage, while also deflating the value of other assets to reduce real estate taxes. In 2020, Attorney General James filed a motion to compel the Trump Organization to comply with her office’s lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony regarding the Trump Organization’s financial dealings. This motion came after months of unsupported privilege claims in an effort to shield evidence from a lawful investigation. Since that time, the Trump Organization has continued to stall, withhold documents, and several organizational executives have refused demands to appear for questioning. But, time and again, Attorney General James has fought back and gotten the courts to order the Trump Organization to turn over the information and documents that the Attorney General’s Office is seeking.
Relatedly, in July, the Attorney General’s Office provided assistance to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in securing a criminal indictment of the Trump Organization and its Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. The indictment alleges, among other things, financial wrongdoing whereby the Trump Organization engaged in a scheme with Mr. Weisselberg to avoid paying taxes on certain compensation. The charges relate to the alleged failure by Weisselberg to pay New York state and federal income taxes on approximately $1.7 million in compensation.
HOLDING POWERFUL ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS ACCOUNTABLE
Investigating the COVID-19 Crisis in Nursing Homes
One of the most tragic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was the extensive and heartbreaking loss of life of New Yorkers living in nursing homes. Since March 2020, Attorney General James has been investigating nursing homes throughout New York state based on allegations of patient neglect and other concerning conduct that may have jeopardized the health and safety of residents and employees.
In January, Attorney General James released a report detailing the preliminary findings of those investigations, most notably revealing that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) undercounted the number of COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents. As part of its investigations, the Attorney General’s Office discovered that many nursing home residents died from COVID-19 in hospitals after being transferred from their nursing homes, which was not reflected in the total nursing home death data that DOH published. Altogether, the Attorney General’s Office found that nursing home resident deaths were undercounted by DOH by approximately 50 percent.
The investigations also revealed that nursing homes’ lack of compliance with infection control protocols, insufficient personal protective equipment for staff, and a lack of testing for residents and staff put residents at increased risk of harm. Additionally, facilities that had lower pre-pandemic staff to resident ratios had higher COVID-19 fatality rates; government guidance requiring the admission of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes may have put residents at increased risk of harm in some facilities; and a lack of nursing home compliance with an executive order requiring communication with family members caused avoidable pain and distress.
Based on these findings, Attorney General James is continuing to investigate multiple nursing homes.
While nothing can bring back the family members and loved ones who were tragically lost in the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorney General James will continue to work tirelessly to provide the transparency that New Yorkers deserve and hold accountable anyone who compromises the safety of our most vulnerable.
