俄勒冈州检察长领衔17州提交书状：为纽约特朗普民事欺诈案辩护州执法权
俄勒冈州马里恩县 Salem 市——俄勒冈州检察长 Dan Rayfield 10月30日领衔17个州，在纽约州诉特朗普民事欺诈案中提交法庭之友书状，捍卫一个基本原则：欺诈就是违法，不论行骗者是谁、受害机构有多大。
这起案件由纽约州检察长 Letitia James 依据州法提起，指控 Donald Trump 及其商业伙伴虚增资产价值，以换取更优惠的贷款与保险条件，目前正在纽约州最高法院即纽约州上诉法院审理，被告包括 Donald Trump、Eric Trump、Allen Weisselberg 与 Jeffrey McConney。被告方主张，州政府不应介入，因为受骗的是从未投诉的大型老练银行机构。
书状指出，若这一主张成立，全美各州检察长——包括俄勒冈州检察长——今后代表公众打击欺诈将更加困难。书状列出四点理由：欺诈伤害的不只是交易当事方，还会扭曲市场、侵蚀规则面前人人平等的观念；靠撒谎拿到更便宜贷款的企业会不正当地压过诚实竞争者，成本最终由消费者承担；大型机构受骗时，其员工、储户和所有依赖它的人都会受害；而有权势的当事方有时出于自身利益选择沉默，检察长的职责正是为公众把关。
「当有人误导银行以拿到更好的条件时，所有守规矩的人都要为此买单——说了实话的竞争者、指望银行保持健康的员工与储户都是如此，」Rayfield 说。「有钱有势并不意味着可以享受另一套规则。我们的职责是保护公众，哪怕交易另一端是宁愿把欺诈掩盖过去的大银行。」
俄勒冈州法律已赋予检察长在慈善机构或企业被用来欺骗公众时介入的工具，许多州也有类似法律。此次由俄勒冈州领衔提交书状，加入的还有亚利桑那州、加利福尼亚州、康涅狄格州、特拉华州、夏威夷州、伊利诺伊州、缅因州、马萨诸塞州、密歇根州、明尼苏达州、内华达州、新泽西州、新墨西哥州、佛蒙特州、弗吉尼亚州与华盛顿州。
Oregon AG Leads 17 States in Brief Defending State Fraud Enforcement in New York Trump Case
Salem, Marion County, Oregon — Attorney General Dan Rayfield on October 30 led 17 states in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the civil fraud case New York brought against Donald Trump and his business associates, defending a basic principle: fraud is against the law, no matter who commits it or how sophisticated the victim is.
New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the case, People v. Trump, under a state law authorizing her office to go after repeated or ongoing business fraud, alleging the defendants inflated the values of assets to obtain better terms on loans and insurance policies. The case is before the New York Court of Appeals. The defendants are Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Allen Weisselberg, and Jeffrey McConney. They are asking New York's highest court to rule that the state had no business stepping in because the banks they defrauded were big, sophisticated institutions that never complained.
The brief argues that if that argument wins, it could make it harder for attorneys general across the country, including in Oregon, to go after fraud on behalf of the public. Fraud hurts more than the people in the deal, the brief says: it warps the marketplace, cheaters gain an unfair edge over honest competitors, fraud against a large bank puts its employees and depositors at risk, and powerful players may stay quiet for their own reasons.
“When someone misleads a bank to get a better deal, everyone else who plays by the rules pays for it — the competitor who told the truth, and the workers and depositors who count on that bank staying healthy,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “Being rich and well-connected doesn't buy you a different set of rules.”
Oregon led the filing, joined by Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于 Salem 的俄勒冈州议会大厦。ZehnKatzen 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Photo by ZehnKatzen, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
