Donald Trump Civil Fraud Case: Ruling, Penalties, and Impact on Business Empire

2024-02-16 22:15:43

The ruling in Donald J. Trump’s civil fraud case determined that the former US president must pay US$355 million. He is also prohibited from running a business in the state for three years.

A New York judge gave the ruling this Friday in the civil fraud case, considering Donald Trump responsible for conspiring to manipulate his net worth, for which he ordered him to pay the million-dollar fine that might wipe out all his money reserves.

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Judge Arthur F. Engoron’s decision caps a years-long case in which New York’s attorney general took Trump’s fantastic wealth claims to trial. With no jury, the power was solely in the hands of Judge Engoron, and he was tough: The judge imposed a wide range of punishments that threaten the former president’s business empire as he simultaneously faces four criminal trials and seeks to reclaim the White House.

Aerial view of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, taken on August 10, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo: AP/Steve Helber)

Judge Engoron not only imposed a three-year ban barring Trump from holding senior positions at any New York company, including his own, but he also applied that punishment to the former president’s adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, for two years. years, and ordered that each pay more than US$4 million. One of the sons, Eric Trump, is the de facto CEO of the Trump Organization, and the ruling casts doubt on whether any family member will be able to run the business anytime soon.

Trump had already been found guilty in September 2023, when Judge Engoron ruled that the existence of “continued fraud” had been proven and that the New York State Attorney General’s Office had already demonstrated that Trump and the directors of his group had “ overvalued” its assets between 812 million and 2.2 billion dollars from 2014 and 2021.

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The complaint was made by Attorney General Letitia James – a position equivalent to that of state Minister of Justice. The properties that are at the center of the prosecutor’s accusations are: the surface area of ​​the businessman’s apartment in Trump Tower, which tripled, and the building at number 40 Wall Street was overvalued between US$200 and US$300 million in the financial statements.

The Trump Organization’s luxurious Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and several golf courses also appear in the dossier.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were also sanctioned and banned from holding positions in New York companies for two years. (Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

James had requested a penalty of US$370 million. Of this sum, US$168 million is equivalent to the extra interest that the lenders stopped receiving. He had also called for banning Trump from the New York real estate industry and barring him from doing business in that state. Likewise, he requested a five-year suspension for Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, but the judge imposed two years on them.

The sentence was a victory for the prosecutor, who sued Trump for what she said were not just harmless boasts but years of deceptive practices as he amassed the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to the top. wealth, fame and the White House.

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Weeks before Judge Engoron issued this ruling, which includes six lawsuits including falsification of business records and forgery, new irregularities at the Trump Organization were revealed. This data was obtained by an external audit ordered by Engoron at the end of 2022. The report of a former federal judge in charge of the audit pointed out typographical errors, missing statements, mathematical errors and an unknown regarding a US$48 million loan between Trump and one of his companies. This, according to the auditor, “may reflect a lack of adequate internal controls.”

Trump’s lawyers denied the content of that report and accused the former judge of “acting in bad faith.” Furthermore, before this Friday’s ruling was handed down, they had announced that they would appeal the verdict.

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