A New York Judge ruled Friday against Donald Trump, imposing a $364 million penalty over what the Judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former President’s wealth.
Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.
Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a 2½-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system.
The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.
Trump’s lawyers had said even before the verdict that they would appeal.
The suit accused Trump and his co-defendants of routinely puffing up his financial statements to create an illusion his properties were more valuable than they really were. State lawyers said Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion one year.
By making himself seem richer, Trump qualified for better loan terms, saved on interest and was able to complete projects he might otherwise not have finished, state lawyers said.
Even before the trial began, Engoron ruled that James had proven Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent. The Judge ordered some of Trump’s companies removed from his control and dissolved. An appeals court put that decision on hold.
In that earlier ruling, the Judge found that, among other tricks, Trump’s financial statements had wrongly claimed his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size and overvalued his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, based on the idea that the property could be developed for residential use, even though he had surrendered rights to develop it for any uses but a club.
Trump, one of 40 witnesses to testify at the trial, said his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business.
“There was no victim. There was no anything,” Trump testified in November.
During the trial, Trump called the Judge “extremely hostile” and the Attorney General “a political hack.” In a six-minute diatribe during closing arguments in January, Trump proclaimed “I am an innocent man” and called the case a “fraud on me.”
Trump and his lawyers have said the outside accountants that helped prepare the statements should’ve flagged any discrepancies and that the documents came with disclaimers that shielded him from liability. They also argued that some of the allegations were barred by the statute of limitations.
The suit is one of many legal headaches for Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He has been indicted four times in the last year — accused in Georgia and Washington, D.C., of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, in Florida of hoarding classified documents, and in Manhattan of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels on his behalf.
On Thursday, a Judge confirmed Trump’s hush-money trial will start on March 25 and a Judge in Atlanta heard arguments on whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from his Georgia election interference case because she had a personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired.
Those criminal accusations haven’t appeared to undermine his march toward the Republican presidential nomination, but civil litigation has threatened him financially.
On Jan. 26, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. That’s on top of the $5 million a jury awarded Carroll in a related trial last year.
In 2022, the Trump Organization was convicted of tax fraud and fined $1.6 million in an unrelated criminal case for helping executives dodge taxes on extravagant perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars.
James had asked the Judge to impose a penalty of at least $370 million.
Engoron decided the case because neither side sought a jury and state law doesn’t allow for juries for this type of lawsuit.
Because it was civil, not criminal in nature, the case did not carry the potential of prison time.
James, who campaigned for office as a Trump critic and watchdog, started scrutinizing his business practices in March 2019 after his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen testified to Congress that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements provided to Deutsche Bank while trying to obtain financing to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
James’ office previously sued Trump for misusing his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests. Trump was ordered to pay $2 million to an array of charities as a fine and the charity, the Trump Foundation, was shut down.
Trump incorporated the Trump Organization in New York in 1981. He still owns it, but he put his assets into a revocable trust and gave up his positions as the company’s Director, President and Chairman when he became President, leaving management of the company to sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
Trump did not return to a stated leadership position upon leaving the White House in 2021, but his sons testified he’s been involved in some decision making.
Engoron had already appointed a monitor, retired federal Judge Barbara Jones, to keep an eye on the company.
12 comments
PeterH
February 16, 2024 at 3:59 pm
ONLY THE FINEST PEOPLE WILL SERVE IN MY ADMINISTRATION!
Working with Donald Trump is a good resume builder. Just look at all of the previous success stories:
Roy Cohn – disbarred and indicted
Rudy Giuliani – indicted
Mark Meadows – indicted
Sidney Powell – convicted felon
Jenna Ellis – convicted felon
Kenneth Chesebro – convicted felon
John Eastman – indicted
Jeffrey Clark – indicted
Allen Weisselberg – convicted felon
Steve Bannon – convicted felon
Roger Stone – convicted felon
Michael Flynn – convicted felon and Turkish foreign agent
George Papadopoulos – convicted felon
Michael Cohen – convicted felon
Paul Manafort – convicted felon and obvious Russian intelligence asset.
Rick Gates – convicted felon
George Nader – convicted felon
Bernard Kerik – convicted felon
Dinesh D’Souza – convicted felon
Carter Page – confessed to FBI that he was a Russian intelligence asset
Peter Navarro – convicted felon
Lyn Wood – gave up his law license to avoid disbarment hearings
Silly Wabbit
February 17, 2024 at 4:39 pm
Kwazy club.
Hells Kind
February 16, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Look Out Donald. Your crimes are catching up to you ! RAPE, FRAUD, insurrection next, stealing national secret documents , selling your soul to killers like Putin next !
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Earl Pitts "Sage Political Expert Emeritas" American
February 16, 2024 at 5:41 pm
Good evening Sage Patriots,
Relax your sphincters secure in the knowledge that I, Earl Pitts American, have agreed to represent Trump in front of the Supreams.
It will be a slam dunk for us, The Good Guys, because I used to date “The Wise Latina Soto-Mayor back in college. My oh my what Hot and $exy Fun Times we had!!!
Thank you America,
Earl Pitts “Esquire” American
rick whitaker
February 16, 2024 at 7:28 pm
WARNING ⚠ TROLL COMMENT BY SPHINCTER MAN
Dont Say FLA
February 16, 2024 at 7:29 pm
Putin’s Pocket Pussy didn’t look to age a single day during his Presidential term. That’s because he did not give AF about the job, only about the grifts.
Now he looks 10 years older almost weekly, and why? Because the stress of his 4 year term is now, finally, weighing upon him. NOW he gets to care about what he did. Good for him.
Biscuit
February 17, 2024 at 4:36 pm
I have a major case of schadenfreude over this sad, sad, bigly sad news.
Arf.
My Take
February 18, 2024 at 1:04 am
His photos get ever more enjoyable too
Taylor Swiff
February 19, 2024 at 11:19 am
I might be willing to lend Trump some money, but I will someday require a favor in return.
rick whitaker
February 19, 2024 at 1:43 pm
taylor wiff, trump doesn’t need your money, he gets his from putin. he is continuing to pay back putin with dirty deeds
Taylor Swiff
February 20, 2024 at 2:42 pm
That’s too bad, Rick. The favor would have been him jumping off a cliff.
Comments are closed.