A New York court held the former US president and his two adult sons accountable for significantly inflating the value of their properties. Trump dismissed the claim as a “fraud” and a “political witch hunt”.
The judge ordered Donald Trump to pay nearly $355 million after finding him liable for fraud, and banned him from running businesses in New York state for three years.
Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling on Friday also prohibits Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity for three years. Additionally, Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were fined $4 million each and barred from acting as directors for two years.
Trump and his family deny any wrongdoing, with the former president labeling the case a “fraud” and a “political witch hunt”. Trump criticized the New York fraud trial as a “sham” in a statement issued on Friday following the verdict.
New York’s attorney general had urged the judge to fine Trump for what she described as “outrageous” schemes. The significant penalty is being viewed as a victory for Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she claimed were not just harmless boasts but years of deceptive practices in building his multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses, and other properties.
The judge has additionally mandated that the Trump Organisation appoint an independent director of compliance and retain its independent monitor for at least three years.
Judge Engoron delivered his decision following a 2½-month trial during which the Republican presidential frontrunner asserted under oath that he was a target of a biased legal system. Trump’s legal team had indicated prior to the verdict that they would appeal the decision.
On Thursday, a judge confirmed that Trump’s hush-money trial will commence on March 25. Additionally, a judge in Atlanta heard arguments regarding whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from Trump’s Georgia election interference case due to her personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired.
While the criminal accusations haven’t seemed to hinder his progress toward the Republican presidential nomination, civil litigation has posed financial threats.
On January 26, a jury mandated Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her, following her 2019 accusation of assault in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. This sum adds to the $5 million previously awarded to Carroll by another jury in a related trial last year.
In 2022, the Trump Organization was found guilty of tax fraud and fined $1.6 million in an unrelated criminal case for facilitating executives in evading taxes on lavish perks like Manhattan apartments and luxury cars.
Previously, the New York Attorney General’s office sued Trump for misappropriating his charitable foundation to advance his business interests. Trump was directed to pay $2 million to various charities as a penalty, and the Trump Foundation was forced to cease operations.
Trump established the Trump Organization in New York in 1981 and remains its owner. However, upon assuming the presidency, he transferred his assets to a revocable trust and relinquished his roles as the company’s director, president, and chairman. Management of the company was entrusted to his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
Upon leaving the White House in 2021, Trump did not officially resume a leadership position within the organization. Nonetheless, his sons testified that he has remained involved in certain decision-making processes.