UPDATED, Feb. 19, 4: 11 p.m.: Two years ago, the Netflix documentary series “Dirty Money” trained its sights on Donald Trump in an episode it called “The Confidence Man.” This time around, it’s staying in the real estate world and in the family.
The show will devote an episode of its second season to Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and former CEO of Kushner Companies, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Dirty Money” will also look into the 1MDB scandal. Federal authorities say Malaysian financier and current fugitive Jho Low, and his associates, used money from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund to buy more than $1.7 billion worth of real estate, yachts, jets and jewelry.
“Dirty Money” will investigate Kushner in an episode titled, “Slumlord Millionaire.” The 1MDB episode is called “The Man at the Top.” Other episodes in the season will examine Wells Fargo, the life cycle of gold, and corruption and regulatory wrongdoing within one of the largest global plastics producers, according to the report.
The Kushner episode will focus on tenants of the real estate developer and landlord who are speaking out against the company.
Kushner Companies did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Kushner family patriarch Charlie Kushner has been at the helm of the firm since his son, Jared, the former CEO, left to work as a senior adviser in President Trump’s administration in 2017. Charlie Kushner has previously said the company has been unfairly scrutinized because of the connection to the president.
The firm has been pushing into suburban multifamily markets, and last year paid $1 billion for a portfolio of 6,000 rental apartments in Maryland and Virginia from private-equity firm Lone Star Funds.
Critics have accused the Kushners of having conflicts of interest regarding Jared’s government job and his family business, but the firm has run into other troubles.
In 2018, the company was cited for falsifying construction paperwork and failing to identify that rent-regulated tenants lived at 17 Kushner properties undergoing extensive renovations in New York City.
The year before, Kushner Companies and its affiliates in Maryland were found to have sought the civil arrest of more than 100 former tenants since 2013, making the firm the most frequent user of that strategy for debt collection.
The company has also been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging illegal deregulation and, in separate cases, compensated tenants for rent overcharge.
The series, produced by Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, says it will tell the “untold stories of scandal, financial malfeasance and corruption.” [THR] — Erin Hudson