A New York judge on Friday ordered Donald Trump to pay $355 million on fraud charges, dealing a major blow to his business empire and financial standing and banning him from operating a company in the state for three years.
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Trump, who is almost certain to become the Republican presidential nominee this November, was found guilty of illegally inflating his assets and manipulating real estate values ​​in order to obtain more favorable bank loans and insurance terms. I received it.
Because the case was civil, not criminal, there was no threat of prison time. But ahead of the ruling, President Trump said banning business operations in New York state was tantamount to a “corporate death penalty.”
President Trump, who faces 91 criminal charges in other cases, has used his legal predicament to infuriate his supporters and denounce his likely opponent, President Joe Biden, and has threatened to hold court. claims that it is “just a way to hurt me in the election.”
The scope of Judge Arthur Engoron's order threatens to shatter his personal wealth and future earning capacity.
In a scathing order, Mr. Engoron wrote: “This court is not judicially bound by the defendants' refusal to acknowledge their mistakes and, according to the Independent Monitor, to actually continue their mistakes. “Unless it is, we conclude that the defendants will continue to be involved in litigation.”
“In fact, Donald Trump has testified to this day that he does not believe the Trump Organization needs to make any changes based on the facts revealed in this trial.”
Mr. Trump built his public profile as a New York real estate developer and businessman and used that as a springboard to the entertainment industry and eventually to the presidency.
The judge's order was a victory for New York State Attorney General Letitia James. She was seeking $370 million from Trump to rectify his alleged illegal profits and ban him from doing business in the state.
Growing legal risks
President Trump has repeatedly attacked James, calling him a “lunatic” and has denigrated Engoron, who decided the case without a jury, as “out of control.”
In highly technical testimony, the court found that in one case, President Trump valued the luxury Mar-a-Lago club in Florida using an “asking price” rather than the actual sales price as a comparison. heard.
The prosecution stated, “From 2011 to 2015, the defendants added a 30% premium on the property because it was a “completed (commercial) facility.'' He claimed that it was distorted.
“There is no clear, current evidence of Donald Trump's intent,” said Trump's lawyer Chris Kiss.
Kise acknowledged that there may be errors in President Trump's corporate financial statements, but said none of them lead to the conclusion that there was any wrongdoing.
The ruling caps off a whirlwind court week for Trump.
President Trump appeared in court in New York on Thursday ahead of a criminal trial in which he is charged with illegally concealing hush money payments. This is the first criminal trial of a former US president.
Trump's lawyers are also representing him in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is accused of conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
Prosecutors in the case responded Thursday with barely concealed anger to efforts to have her removed from the case for inappropriate conduct, and her relationship with another lawyer in the case was outrageous. He testified that he was.
A separate trial involving President Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election is on hold in Washington, D.C., while Trump attempts to claim presidential immunity.
The twice-impeached former president is scheduled to go on trial in Florida in May on charges that he removed a large amount of classified documents from his personal belongings when he left office and obstructed officials trying to retrieve them.
Just last month, another court in New York ordered President Trump to pay $83.3 million in restitution to author E. Jean Carroll, who was found to have sexually assaulted and then defamed her in a civil trial.
President Trump's legal troubles are hurting his financial strength as he seeks a return to the White House.
Donald Trump spent more than $50 million of his PAC donations on legal fees in 2023, according to FEC filings.
Eli Bartov, one of the expert witnesses called by Trump's defense team in the corporate fraud case, said in court that he worked about 650 hours on the case for $1,350 an hour, or $877,500.
(AFP)
