Fact Check: Fox News did not report Deutsche Bank filed Mar-a-Lago foreclosure in November

Fox News did not report that Deutsche Bank filed a foreclosure notice on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, in November 2023. The claim stems from an X account that describes itself as a parody profile.

The earliest iteration Reuters found of the claim was posted on X on Nov. 15 (archived). The post reads: “BREAKING FOX NEWS Deutsche Bank has filed a notice to foreclose on Mar A Lago. The Trump property is part of a larger estate lien that is 190m$ delinquent. Court documents show a 3.4b$ loan that’s in default. Trump hasn’t respond to repeated attempts for comment. Developing story.”

Comments include, “good to know, thanks,” and “I’m not finding this….anyone have a source link?”

Screenshots of the post surfaced on Facebook (archived) and TikTok (archived).

A spokesperson for Fox News told Reuters in an email on Nov. 22 “this is fake.” There is no related report on Fox News’ website or social media channels.

The account that first published the claim told Reuters in an X message that they are a “parody account,” which corresponds with their profile description (archived).

Reuters did not find any credible news reports of such a foreclosure. There is no such statement on Deutsche Bank’s website.

The claim surfaced during a fraud trial in New York where Trump, his adult sons, his company and other defendants have been accused of overvaluing asset values to defraud banks and insurers. Trump has called the case against him “a political witch hunt.”

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Satire. The account that first posted the claim describes itself as a parody account. A spokesperson for Fox News said that the claim is “fake.”

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.  Read more about our fact-checking work.

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