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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA New York judge ruled Friday against Donald Trump, imposing a $364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a years-long 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 2-½-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.
James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that authorizes her to investigate persistent fraud in business dealings.
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.
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Clown
What a load of political judicial crap activism.
The Dems are corrupt to their core!!
Trump is indeed a job creator … for the legal industry.
“ From the 1970s until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in U.S. federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes.[1] He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault,[2][3] with one accusation resulting in Trump being held civilly liable.[4]
In 2015, his lawyer Alan Garten called this “a natural part of doing business” in the United States.[5][6] While litigation is indeed common in the real estate industry,[5] Trump has been involved in more legal cases than his fellow magnates Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Donald Bren, Stephen M. Ross, Sam Zell, and Larry Silverstein combined.[7]”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_and_business_legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump
Joe,
Agreed to a point.
The Attorney General Lietta James of New York and the
District Attorney of Manhattan both campaigned on going after Trump as
part of their political platforms to win elections.
In other words. “ Bring me the man and I will find the crime “.
In the case of the $ 355 million dollar judgement against Trump. There was no
victim. The banks and insurance companies that served Trumps businesses,
they NEVER filed suit.
Now we are finding out in Georgia, that the prosecutor acted very unethically or
even criminal.
Trump has been the center of many false allegations by our national news media,
so called fact checkers, and our governmental institutions. ** That should be
very concerning to all people regardless of political affiliation. **
I stopped supporting Trump when he refused to concede the 2020 election.
But what is happening now is nothing but spiteful retribution.
He’s in trouble for running two sets of books, Keith. The other set of victims is the government that he underpaid … citizens like us.
This idea there’s no victim is quite curious to me. Either the rule of law matters, or it doesn’t. That appears to be a tacit admission, that yes, he broke the law and screwed some banks, but there shouldn’t be consequences … is not how America works. I mean, when someone pulls you over for speeding, do you get to tell them that you didn’t hurt anyone and they just tear up the ticket and walk away?
If acting unethically or criminal is disqualifying behavior for someone, Trump should’ve been laughed back up the escalator. His long history of acting unethically or criminally predates his run for office. There’s a reason some of us never supported him from day one, and I at least am not the least bit surprised at how things went.
If you’re telling me you’re bothered by people acting illegally, how on earth could you have ever supported him to begin with?
I’m not sure what you’re saying by blaming the media for everything. Are you just upset they documented that the man cannot open his mouth without lying? Remember when people tried to tell us the office was going to change him? How’d that work out?
Trump is the classic case of someone who’s gotten away with it his entire life and in response, just keeps escalating his crimes. Which probably explains why he used the court decision yesterday as an excuse to do more fundraising, to find more people willing to pay his legal bills for him. He’s running a scam on them too.
Libby loved the Donald and his constant campaign contributions until the day that he came to his political senses and interrupted Hillary’s landslide victory. Libby is still scorned.
The only problem I have with all of this is the fact that developers/legit business people in NYC/New York have known for decades that this clown was a fraud, con and a crook and did nothing to stop him.
Slap on the wrist. Better call the whambulance.
Back in the mid to late 80s, Trump was involved in several matters that were referred to the US Attorneys office for review and investigation, mostly related to bankruptcy cases involving Trump. The USA for the Southern District of New York refused to bring any charges, despite the recommendation of many within the office. The USA for SDNY was none other than a man name Rudy Giuliani, who ran (unsuccessfully) for Mayor of New York in 1989, then was elected Mayor in 1993. According to the campaign finance reports filed by Rudy’s campaign organizations, some of the largest contributors to his campaign were Donald Trump, Trump family members and executives in the Trump organization. One does not have to work too hard to make a connection to the lack of criminal charges and campaign contributions coming from Trump. I believe the term is quid pro quo.
Trump is and always has been a complete narcissist and sociopath. He is a grifter and his biggest grift ever is his political life. For him, it is the rallies and power of the office that motivates him. He has always taken advantage of the little guy and continues to do so, convincing people to give him money that a real billionaire would not need.
+1