Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354 million, says frauds 'shock the conscience'
The former president was found to have defrauded lenders.
Former President Donald Trump has been fined $354.8 million plus approximately $100 million in interest in a civil fraud lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel him to the White House. In the decision, Judge Arthur Engoron excoriated Trump, saying the president's credibility was "severely compromised," that the frauds "shock the conscience" and that Trump and his co-defendants showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that he said "borders on pathological."
Engoron also hit Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump with $4 million fines and barred all three from helming New York companies for years. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his adult sons of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.
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Summary of penalties
Donald Trump and his adult sons were hit with millions in fines in the civil fraud trial and barred for years from being officers in New York companies. The judge said the frauds "shock the conscience."
Donald Trump: $354 million fine + approx. $100 million in interest
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
Donald Trump Jr.: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Eric Trump: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg: $1 million fine
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney:
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Judge orders monitor to oversee company
Judge Engoron vacated his September order canceling the defendants’ business certificates, instead ordering an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization for at least three years.
He also ordered an Independent Director of Compliance be installed at the company.
Judge says Trump's lack of remorse 'borders on pathological'
Judge Engoron, in his decision, excoriated the Trumps and their co-defendants for their "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that he said "borders on pathological."
"They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin."
"Defendants did not commit murder or arson," the judge wrote. "They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' posture that the evidence belies."
Judge fines Trump $354 million
Former President Donald Trump must pay $354 million for fraudulent business practices, Judge Arthur Engoron has ruled.
Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been fined $4 million apiece, and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has been fined $1 million.
The decision bars Trump barred from serving as an officer of a New York company for three years, and bars his sons for two years apiece.
Regarding the dissolution of Trump's companies, the decision says, "This Court hereby modifies its September 26, 2023, Decision and Order solely to the extent of removing the language ordering the LLCs cancellation en masse. The restructuring and potential dissolution of any LLCs shall be subject to individual review by the Court appointed Independent Director of Compliance in consultation with Judge Jones."
In his decision, Engoron wrote that "Defendants' refusal to admit error -- indeed, to continue it, according to the Independent Monitor -- constrains this Court to conclude that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained."
"Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial," the judge wrote. "His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility."
"The accountants created these 'compilations' based on data submitted by the Trump entities," the decision said. "In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements. When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants' fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences."
Of Donald Trump Jr., Engoron wrote, "Despite disclaiming responsibility for or knowledge of the Statements of Financial Conditions' contents, Trump, Jr. still insisted that the Statements of Financial Condition were 'materially accurate.'"
Engoron's decision follows an 11-week civil trial in New York, where Trump and three of his adult children testified.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, his two adult sons, and Trump Organization executives in September 2022 for issuing fraudulent financial statements -- including over 200 false and misleading asset values between 2011 and 2021 -- to get better loan terms and business deals.
Judge concerned if ex-Trump CFO pleads guilty to perjury
Judge Arthur Engoron fired back at defense lawyers Thursday regarding former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who was allegedly engaged in plea talks with the Manhattan DA's office to resolve a potential perjury charge.
Engoron had asked the lawyers in the case for information on Weisselberg's potential guilty plea, based on reporting from The New York Times. One of the defense lawyers responded by characterizing the request as "unprecedented, inappropriate, and troubling."
"Arguing against judicial notice is attacking a straw person, as I have not taken, do not plan to take, and did not suggest or hint that I would take judicial notice of the subject New York Times article or the contents thereof," Engoron wrote in an email posted to the court's docket.
However, Engoron vowed that he would research and consider the issue if Weisselberg, a defendant in the fraud case, pleads guilty to perjury before Engoron issues his final ruling in the case.
"I am not reopening the case, but if someone pleads guilty to committing perjury in a case over which I am presiding, I want to know about it," Engoron said, adding that he reached out to Weisselberg's attorney for more information.
"You and your co-counsel have been questioning my impartiality since the early days of this case, presumably because I sometimes rule against your clients," Engoron wrote. "That whole approach is getting old."
1st witness eyes Trump's decade-old financial statements
Testifying about the preparation of the Trump Organization's statements of financial condition in 2011, former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender said Trump executives largely provided the input data for statements, in addition to dictating the standards by which the work was completed.
"We would cut and paste that information into a new worksheet," Bender said about the approach taken by Mazar after receiving new data from co-defendant Jeffrey McConney of the Trump Organization.
When asked about the compliance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles -- which Bender testified are the standards for accounting in the United States -- Bender repeatedly placed responsibility in the lap of the Trump organization.
"That was the Trump Organization's responsibility," Bender testified about GAAP compliance.
Bender acknowledged that he rarely questioned the inputs from the Trump Organization, and when he did, he largely dealt with McConney and executives other than Trump and his adult sons.
Repeatedly asked by the state attorney if Mazars would have issued the statements if they had known the Trump Organization included material misrepresentations in their data, Bender reiterated that Mazars would not have issued the statements.
When Judge Engoron remarked at the end of the trial day that the state would still need to present further evidence to prove that the 2011 statement was within the statute of limitations, Trump seized the statement as a partial victory.
"The last five minutes was outstanding, because the judge actually conceded that the statute of limitations … is in effect," Trump told reporters as he was leaving court.
Engoron, however, did not completely rule out the 2011 evidence during trial, instead appearing to remind counsel that they need to show the 2011 statement represents an ongoing concern that falls within the statute of limitations.
Testimony is scheduled to resume on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.