ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 8, 2021
Donald Trump’s century-old estate in New York’s Westchester County could end up being one of his bigger legal nightmares. Seven Springs, a 213-acre swath of nature surrounding a Georgian-style mansion, is a subject of two state investigations. Both investigations focus on whether Trump manipulated the property’s value to reap greater tax benefits from an environmental conservation arrangement he made in 2015. Trump acquired the property as part of an effort to jumpstart his fortunes after a series of failures, including casino bankruptcies and the sale of his money-losing Trump Shuttle airline. In 2009, Trump allowed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to pitch his tent on the property. His development plans dashed, Trump granted an easement to a conservation land trust to preserve 158 acres of meadows and forest claiming a $21 million income tax deduction. He has also written off more than $2 million in property taxes since 2014.