In a significant blow to Donald J. Trump, a New York judge ruled on Friday that the former president is responsible for civil fraud. The judgment holds Trump accountable for manipulating his net worth and orders him to pay a penalty of $355 million, which could deplete his entire cash reserves.
The ruling by Justice Arthur F. Engoron concludes a tumultuous and protracted case in which New York’s attorney general challenged Trump’s extravagant claims of wealth. With no jury involved, the decision rested solely in Justice Engoron’s hands, and he delivered severe consequences. The judge imposed a three-year ban on Trump’s involvement in any New York company, including his own, and extended the ban to his adult sons for two years, along with a hefty fine of over $4 million each. This punishment casts doubt on whether any member of the Trump family can run the business in the near future.
Trump plans to appeal the financial penalty, which may surpass $400 million with added interest. However, he must either pay the amount or secure a bond within 30 days. Although the ruling will not render him bankrupt due to his real estate holdings, it poses a significant financial burden.
Additionally, Trump is likely to seek a temporary halt to the restrictions on him and his sons from managing the company while an appeals court considers the case. Nevertheless, one of the judge’s most significant sanctions is the appointment of an independent monitor for three years. The monitor, Barbara Jones, will oversee the Trump Organization, scrutinizing transactions and detecting any fraudulent activities.
Trump’s legal team strongly opposes the monitor’s presence, claiming that her work has already cost the business over $2.5 million. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Trump can prevent the extension of her oversight, which the Trumps perceive as an annoyance and an insult.
The attorney general, Letitia James, sought severe consequences, including a permanent ban on Trump’s business activities in New York. In the original 2022 lawsuit that led to the trial, James accused Trump of inflating his net worth to obtain favorable treatment from lenders, undermining his public image as a billionaire entrepreneur.
Although the lenders profited from their dealings with Trump, they were considered the victims in the case. James argued that without Trump’s fraud, they could have made even more money. The financial penalty reflects these lost profits, with a significant portion of the $355 million representing saved interest and the remaining amount being the profit Trump gained from selling two properties, which the judge has now taken back.
Before the trial began, Justice Engoron already ruled in favor of the attorney general’s central claim that Trump had used his annual financial statements to deceive lenders. In Friday’s ruling, the judge upheld most of the other accusations brought by James, finding Trump liable for conspiring with his top executives to violate various state laws.
This decision marks a significant victory for Letitia James, a Democrat, and fulfills her campaign promise to hold Trump accountable. Throughout the trial, she maintained her composure while Trump attacked her, labeling her a corrupt politician driven solely by self-interest.
This recent ruling represents Trump’s second major courtroom defeat in two months, following a defamation case in which he was found liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll and was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages.
The civil fraud ruling comes as Manhattan prosecutors prepare to try Trump on criminal charges next month, adding to the numerous other criminal cases where he faces 57 felony counts. However, among all his legal troubles, the fraud case appears to have deeply troubled Trump. During the trial, he protested the accusations, claiming, “This has been a persecution of somebody that’s done a good job in New York.”
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