• CableMonster@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    Are you aware of underwriting? What it does is the loan company asks for all of the information it wants, and uses that information to decide if they should give you money and how much money to give you. So it doesnt matter what value they put on the property, the loan company decides what the value is.

    This is illegal in NY, so the people of NY were harmed.

    How is having an opinion that your property is worth more than someone else thinks a crime? And if it is, how can you possibly justify so much for a crime what you cant point to an actual person that was directly or even indirectly harmed?

    • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      In NY, it is a crime to falsely state the value of an asset on a loan document. It doesn’t matter if an actual person is harmed.

      There are plenty of laws that are designed to reduce the risk of harm. Apartment buildings are required to conform to fire codes. Restaurants are required to conform to health codes. Drivers are required to be sober and carry insurance.

      If your apartment has no fire exits, it doesn’t matter if nobody is hurt in a fire. If your restaurant pantry is full of rat droppings, it doesn’t matter if nobody got ill. If you are pulled over drunk without insurance, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t get in an accident.

      In each of those examples, you put people at risk, even if you “can’t point to an actual person that was directly or even indirectly harmed”. You broke the law, and you should be punished.

      Furthermore, the punishment has to exceed whatever you might have gained from breaking the law. If you don’t have auto insurance, the penalty has to be more than what auto insurance costs. Otherwise, you would be happy to pay a fine instead of buying auto insurance.

      In New York, there are laws against inflating your asset values on loan documents. Those laws are meant to protect all New Yorkers. When Trump lied on his loan documents, he harmed all New Yorkers. He broke the law. And the penalty has to be greater than whatever money he thought he might save by lying.

      • CableMonster@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        Value of property is highly variable and up to opinion.

        How was an average New Yorker harmed by trump claiming his property was worth more than it was? Please be very direct and specific. I can give you how trump getting that loan benefitted New Yorkers if you want…

        • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          For starters, the square footage of an apartment is not a matter of opinion, and Trump lied about the square footage.

          The average New Yorker was harmed by Trump in the same way that the average New Yorker is harmed by a drunk driver who makes it home without hitting anyone.

          • CableMonster@lemmy.ml
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            9 months ago

            It was trumps lawyers not trump, but there are ways to make it look higher than it is.

            The average new yorker is not harmed by a drunk driver that doesnt hit anyone…

            • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              So you don’t understand why drunk drivers are punished? Or why you would be punished for driving 100 mph in a school zone without hitting anyone? Or why you would go to jail if you shot a few rounds into a crowd without hurting anyone?

              In that case, you simply don’t understand the point of public safety laws. Fortunately, prosecutors do understand.

              To summarize: There are laws. Even if you can’t understand why they exist, you have to obey them.

              • CableMonster@lemmy.ml
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                9 months ago

                They are punished to prevent them from driving drunk in the present and the future, there is not actual harm from them being drunk and making it home save.

                If people are convicted by what could have been that is a very slippery slope.

                • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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                  9 months ago

                  Exactly, and Trump is being punished to prevent him from lying on loan documents in the present and future.

                  • CableMonster@lemmy.ml
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                    9 months ago

                    He is being punished for running for president, that should be obvious. So again, please very directly tell me how people were harmed by trump. I can tell you how they benefitted.

          • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
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            9 months ago

            square footage is routinely fudged. some people go by exterior square footage, some people count the possible square footage of nonstructural walls. and some people go by interior, usable square feet.