The main hero of the Donald Trump fraud trial that kicked off Monday is, of course, Letitia James. New York’s attorney general has worked tirelessly for years on investigating Trump’s decades of criminal and corrupt behavior, resulting in a $250 million lawsuit accusing Trump and his two grown sons of running a fraudulent business. Her case is so airtight, in fact, that New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled Trump liable for fraud from the bench, rather than waste a jury’s time figuring out what was indisputable from the evidence. The ensuing trial — which drew Trump himself into the Manhattan courtroom this week — is entirely about how serious the penalities will be.

There are weeks, maybe months to go before we learn how much Trump will have to pay for defrauding investors, banks and insurance companies over several decades. So we’ll have to wait a bit for James to get her virtual ticker-tape parade for kicking the most hated man in New York real estate out of town. In the meantime, however, there’s another well-known New York City politician who is owed a debt of gratitude for bringing some accountability to Trump’s gold-painted front door: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In our era of 24/7 media onslaught, four years can seem like like four lifetimes, so it’s easy to forget that when Ocasio-Cortez arrived in Congress in January 2019, there was a lot of curiosity and outright skepticism about her among the Beltway press. She’d gotten there in improbable fashion, winning a 2018 primary against Rep. Joe Crowley — a power broker in Queens who chaired the House Democratic caucus and was seen as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi. Before that, Ocasio-Cortez had been working as a bartender in a Manhattan taco joint. So the media was watching eagerly to see whether she’d rise to the occasion or fall flat on her face.

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Ocasio-Cortez’s first big test came in February 2019, when Trump’s former personal attorney and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, testified before the House Oversight Committee. Cohen was about to go to prison for a campaign finance crime committed at Trump’s behest, and told a genuinely moving story of crime and betrayal. But most of the Democrats on the committee whiffed this opportunity to ask questions of a guy who had been nestled within the Trump gang for years. Instead, they devoted their time to grandstanding for the cameras, rather than learning any new information about Trump’s illegal dealings.

Except, of course, for the young congresswoman from a working-class, multiracial district in Queens and the Bronx. Much to the surprise and delight of mainstream journalists, Ocasio-Cortez was all business. She showed up with a long list of questions about how much Cohen knew about Trump’s business dealings and whether the man currently in the White House had spent his previous career defrauding creditors and investors. Cohen’s answer: Trump was criming all the time. The transcript is worth re-reading and relishing:

That line of questioning, in which Cohen confirmed that Trump routinely manipulated numbers to evade taxes while defrauding banks and insurance companies, was the first step on the long road to Trump making a stink-face in court on Monday morning. New York state regulators started to sniff around Trump’s business. James had already been dealing with a smaller case involving Trump’s charitable foundation, but Cohen’s testimony opened the door to a much bigger investigation.

Three years later, James came out with the stunning — and largely irrefutable — accusations she’s presenting in court this week: Trump’s wealth is built on a sandcastle of lies. He doubles, triples or quadruples the valuations of his assets in order to get loans from creditors, and drastically undervalues them to evade taxes. With this shell game, the four-times-indicted ex-president lives like a rich man despite his proven inability to make much money from his business ventures. Everything Cohen said before that committee has pretty much proven true, and only AOC even thought to ask him about it.

The near-certainty that Trump’s allegedly enormous wealth is an illusion has already been documented in reporting on his tax documents showing that he is deep in debt — perhaps as much $1 billion — even though inherited nearly half a billion from his father and earned another $427 million from his reality-TV star turn on “The Apprentice.” All available evidence suggests Trump blew through that money and kept digging, creating a money pit so enormous that banks likely had given up hope of seeing any of it repaid. Yet Trump has kept up the illusion of immense wealth with his private jets and entourages, all paid for through dozens of opaque shell companies — and, as James’ evidence suggests, through massive fraud.

He might have gotten away with it, too, if not for that nosy congresswoman from the outer boroughs. I’m a little surprised that almost no one seems to remember the crucial role Ocasio-Cortez played in this. At the time of the hearing, after all, she got an avalanche of good coverage for her showing, especially from journalists who were sick of listening to politicians bloviate rather than perform their constitutional duties of legislative oversight. Her willingness to do her actual job, however, didn’t just make her look good by comparison. It got a very big ball rolling that could eventually demollish Trump’s “business” in New York.

One reason AOC’s role has been forgotten, I suspect, is that the Beltway press tends to think of “progressives” as entirely distinct from the people who really want to see Trump go to jail. Turn on MSNBC or CNN, after all, and the people talking on the Trump crime-and-punishment beat are often centrist Democrats and never-Trump Republicans, your Claire McCaskills and George Conways and the like. Progressive Democrats are usually called upon to talk about policy issues: health care, climate change, jobs programs and so on. So there’s this unspoken assumption that progressives don’t much care about corruption and accountability.

In fact, there’s substantial evidence that progressives may put an even higher value on opposing corruption than their more moderate colleagues. For instance, progressives like Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania were among the first to call for the resignation of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., after his recent indictment on bribery and corruption charges. This isn’t just about political progressives also being people of conscience. I think they understand how intertwined corruption and authoritarian politics are, and understand you can’t fight one without fighting the other.

Authoritarians like Trump gain power by exploiting public cynicism. The more that voters believe that all politicians cheat the system, the more decent citizens will give up engaging meaningfully in politics at all. Eventually, the only people left in politics are the ones with no vision of a better world beyond a bitter desire to stick it to racial minorities, LGBTQ people and women. Getting people to believe in equal justice and functional government is a necessary prerequisite if folks like Fetterman and Ocasio-Cortez are to make any progress on the social and economic issues that matter most to them. It makes sense that AOC opened the door for the massive lawsuit that may bring Donald Trump’s business empire crashing down. Maybe the main reason she’s not taking more credit for that is that in the here and now she’s busy trying to expose the corruption of House Republicans.

For regular Costco customers who love the retail giant for its incredible bargains, there’s an exclusive deal that’s easy to overlook yet potentially one of the most rewarding of all.

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It’s the Costco Trade-In program, a unique initiative designed to exchange your old electronics for Costco credit that can be used towards anything in the store, including your grocery shopping.

How does Costco’s Trade-Up program work?

Costco’s Trade-Up program, operated in partnership with Phobio, allows customers to exchange a range of old electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles. The process is simple and user-friendly. Customers can visit the program’s dedicated website and choose the specific device they wish to trade up.

Once selected, the website will give an estimate based on the device’s condition and the market value. If the customer agrees to the offer, they can print a free shipping label to send the device to Costco for verification. Once Costco receives and inspects the device, a Costco Card equivalent to the agreed value will be issued, which can be received either digitally or physically via mail.

There are, however, some restrictions to bear in mind. Damaged or non-functional items will not be accepted, and specific devices may have particular trade-in stipulations, such as a minimum storage capacity. Therefore, it’s advisable to check the site’s criteria for each device before initiating a trade.

Why participate in Costco’s Trade-Up program?

The Costco Trade-Up program provides a practical solution for those seeking to declutter and dispose of unwanted electronics. It presents a win-win situation, allowing participants to reduce e-waste while earning store credit. The process is seamless and cost-effective, with no shipping charges for sending items to Costco.

This credit can then be used for purchases at Costco, both in-store and online, which can include your next batch of groceries. This makes it an excellent strategy for making the most out of devices that would otherwise just be collecting dust.

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Similar Trade-In Programs

If you’re not a Costco member, don’t worry. Several retailers offer similar services. For instance, Target, Best Buy, and GameStop also have trade-in programs that let customers exchange old electronics for store credit. These programs follow a similar procedure, offering quotes for used devices and credit based on the item’s condition.

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The Costco Trade-Up program is a savvy way to get the most out of your outdated electronics. By offering an environmentally friendly option to reduce clutter, and the chance to earn free groceries, it is indeed a deal worth considering.

More From GOBankingRates

Editor’s note: This article was produced via automated technology and then fine-tuned and verified for accuracy by a member of GOBankingRates’ editorial team.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Costco Will Give You Free Groceries in Exchange for Old Electronics; Here’s How To Take Advantage

Prolific real estate investor Grant Cardone has singled out two U.S. property markets he wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole: Austin and Seattle.

Cardone shared this hot take — and many others — in an interview with Moneywise after he prompted an AI chatbot to answer the question: “What are the 10 best markets for investing in rental real estate in America?”

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The AI Smith response started with: “The best markets for investing in real estate in America can vary depending on factors such as population growth, job opportunities, rental demand, affordability and potential rental income.”

Up until that point, Cardone — who performed the task live on camera — was pretty happy with the response. But when the AI listed Austin, Texas, as the best market for investing in real estate, the investment guru blew up.

“Austin, Texas is one of the worst markets to be in right now,” he exclaimed. “Of all the markets in America, it’s probably the most overbuilt.”

Here’s why an overbuilt property market is bad for real estate investors — and how you can still invest without taking on all the risk yourself.

Overbuilt property markets

The top 10 American cities for investing in real estate AI Smith listed for Cardone are: Austin (TX), Dallas (TX), Nashville (TN), Atlanta (GA), Raleigh (NC), Phoenix (AZ), Tampa (FLA), Denver (CO), Charlotte (NC), Seattle (WA).

But he wasn’t happy with that response.

“Those [top] four markets are all on the top five list of the most overbuilt markets,” he said, suggesting that AI chatbots sometimes give out-of-date information and require fact-checking.

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“Real estate is a very fluid thing.”

Cardone didn’t give a source for his “most overbuilt markets” claim but a report earlier this year by Redfin also listed Austin, Seattle and Denver among the fastest cooling property markets.

That being said, it’s important to always take advice from such financial experts with a grain of salt. Cardone has been the subject of litigation in recent years over allegations of misleading investors.

He has denied the allegations, writing on LinkedIn it’s a “tragedy our system is so litigious and people are encouraged to sue others in order to hold a company doing great things hostage.”

Here’s a deeper dive on these “overbuilt markets” and what it might mean for aspiring investors.

Read more: Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now use $100 to cash in on prime real estate — without the headache of being a landlord. Here’s how

What’s wrong with Austin and Seattle?

Austin was one of the boomtowns of the pandemic. It soared in popularity in 2021 and early 2022, with out-of-town remote workers moving there to take advantage of the historically low mortgage rates.

However, the capital of the Lone Star State is now experiencing the quiet after the storm. While it has remained “resilient” in the face of challenges like rising interest rates, home sales and the median price of a home both fell in the first half of 2023. And, according to Norada Real Estate Investments, researchers consider Austin to be among the most overvalued markets in the United States, with home buyers paying almost 51% more than what’s expected for homes.

Redfin has described Austin as “a victim of its own popularity.” The surge of affluent home buyers during the pandemic pushed up property prices, and then the rapid rise in mortgage rates priced people out of the market, leading to a drop in demand.

Meanwhile, Cardone said he “wouldn’t touch Seattle with anybody’s money.”

The Emerald City has suffered a major blow to its job market. A huge surge in tech layoffs in the wake of the pandemic — similar to that experienced in San Francisco — has shaken the Seattle economy and has resulted in a drop off in home buying demand and competition.

As of September, the number of homes sold in Seattle fell 17.2% year-over-year, according to Redfin, and home prices were down 4.6%. And homes are lingering on the market for longer, too, for an average of 29 days — a 9.5% increase year-over-year, according to Rocket Homes.

What this means for real estate investors

When a property market is overbuilt — whether housing or commercial properties — this can lead to an excess supply, which can drive down property values.

As a real estate investor, this supply and demand imbalance can reduce your rental income (and potentially make it harder to find suitable tenants) and it could even lead to diminished profit margins.

Overbuilt markets also tend to see an uptick in vacancy rates — like we’ve seen in the office sector in saturated markets like New York City — which can cause financial difficulties for investors, who must keep up with mortgage payments, maintenance fees and other costs.

If the hassles associated with picking the right market, buying a property and becoming a landlord don’t appeal to you, but you’re still interested in real estate investments, there are other options.

You can invest in a residential real estate investment trust (REIT), which are publicly-traded companies that collect rent from tenants and pass that rent to shareholders in the form of regular dividend payments.

You may also consider crowdfunding platforms that allow everyday investors to pool their money to purchase property (or a share of property) as a group.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.