If I steal $20 from a friend, buy lottery tickets with the cash, win $1,000, and then give them back $30, does that erase the fact that I stole $20 from them? Of course not. Just because you return the money you stole with some extra doesn’t mean that you didn’t commit a crime in obtaining that money.
In Trump’s case, the banks might have made money, but he still got the number using fraudulent means. Whether or not the banks profited is immaterial. He committed fraud when he told the banks that his properties were worth more than they actually were. That’s when the crime occurred. Any “but later they got their money back plus more” doesn’t exonerate him from the crime.
Absolutely. Also, since Trump’s lies lowered the interest rate he paid for his loans, as intended, the bank made less than they would have if they’d been given accurate data.
So in your example, where you stole $20 and paid back $30, your friend only made $10. If you hadn’t stolen that money, though, he could have invested it and maybe made himself $40, so he’s still out $10.
If I steal $20 from a friend, buy lottery tickets with the cash, win $1,000, and then give them back $30, does that erase the fact that I stole $20 from them? Of course not. Just because you return the money you stole with some extra doesn’t mean that you didn’t commit a crime in obtaining that money.
In Trump’s case, the banks might have made money, but he still got the number using fraudulent means. Whether or not the banks profited is immaterial. He committed fraud when he told the banks that his properties were worth more than they actually were. That’s when the crime occurred. Any “but later they got their money back plus more” doesn’t exonerate him from the crime.
Absolutely. Also, since Trump’s lies lowered the interest rate he paid for his loans, as intended, the bank made less than they would have if they’d been given accurate data.
So in your example, where you stole $20 and paid back $30, your friend only made $10. If you hadn’t stolen that money, though, he could have invested it and maybe made himself $40, so he’s still out $10.
And the issue is that the $20 thief will be compelled to do it again, and again, and again. And not every time they’ll make money to give back.