For decades, Trump and his lieutenants lied to Forbes about his finances, as we have duly noted over the years in the annual Forbes 400 issue listing the richest Americans. In the 1982 inaugural edition, the real estate scion appeared alongside his father with a combined estimated net worth of $200 million—and even then insisted on a higher valuation: “Donald claims $500 million,” we noted. By 2000, the boasts were bolder: “In The Donald’s world, worth more than $5 billion—back on Earth, worth considerably less.” When he was running for office, we explained how his net-worth obsession “opens windows into Trump the entrepreneur, the candidate and the person.” Two Forbes journalists received subpoenas last year from the Manhattan district attorney and had to testify before a grand jury to confirm information in two articles detailing Trump’s shenanigans. The former president’s lies have suddenly assumed greater significance. They now constitute potential evidence in multiple investigations—the civil case by the state attorney general and a criminal one by the Manhattan D.A.—with the potential to cost Trump millions of dollars and, perhaps, another chance at the White House. He has denied any wrongdoing, calling the attorney general’s investigation a “vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition.” Trump’s lawyers, meanwhile, have done their best to keep documents out of the hands of authorities. But Letitia James’ office has nonetheless amassed a trove of materials and filed hundreds of documents in court. The government still doesn’t have the full picture, though, in part because Donald Trump lives like a man trying to avoid a paper trail—no texts, no emails. Forbes, however, has rec­ords those prosecutors do not, including notes from interviews over the years and a 2015 audio recording that places Trump smack in the center of the alleged deceit. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2022/09/21/exclusive-recording-documents-bolster-trump-fraud-lawsuit/?sh=4241a26e52ca Subscribe to FORBES: null Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com/ Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://forbes.com/ Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.