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
'This witness is out of control,' Trump attorney says of Cohen
Trump attorney Alina Habba began her cross-examination by having Michael Cohen recount the criminal acts related to his 2018 guilty plea.
"Mr. Cohen, what did you respond?" Habba asked while reading a transcript from his 2018 plea proceeding.
"Guilty, your honor," Cohen said aloud in court.
Habba also read from a sentencing memorandum related to Cohen's plea in which prosecutors wrote that Cohen's crimes "were marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life."
When Habba asked if Cohen lied to his wife about evading taxes, Cohen responded by saying "objection" and attempting to cite legal precedent.
"You can't object. It's a yes or no question," Habba said.
"He is a serial liar, and he lied to his wife," defense lawyer Chris Kise told the judge about why the question is relevant. He later added, "This witness is completely out of control."
Defense begins cross-examination of Cohen
Following the conclusion of the state's direct examination of Michael Cohen, Trump attorney Alina Habba has begun what is expected to be a lengthy cross-examination.
“You understand what 'under oath' means?” Habba asked Cohen at the start of her cross-examination.
“Yes,” Cohen said, after which Habba began to describe Cohen’s previous criminal conduct.
Trump claimed $8B net worth when bidding for Buffalo Bills
When Donald Trump attempted to bid for the Buffalo Bills football team in 2014, he claimed that his net worth was "in excess of eight billion dollars," according to a document entered evidence during Michael Cohen's testimony.
To support the bid, Trump's frequent lender Deutsche Bank sent a letter to Morgan Stanley to demonstrate that Trump had the "financial wherewithal" to support his bid, according to Cohen.
The New York attorney general alleges that Trump used his inflated financial statement to convince Deutsche Bank to support Trump's financial strength.
The line of questioning prompted strong objections from Trump lawyer Chris Kise, who argued that the bid for the Buffalo Bills is not related to any of the attorney general's causes of action.
"I think this is arguably false, particularly the eight billion dollars ... and this shows a pattern of practice of fraud," Judge Engoron said when overruling the objection.
Cohen testifies how Trump's inflated statements were used
Donald Trump used his inflated financial statements to convince journalists about his net worth, to lower his insurance premiums, and even to support his bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills football team, according to Michael Cohen.
Cohen described how the Trump Organization would grant external parties only limited access to the documents themselves, often presenting them during video calls -- rather than handing out the document for external parties to keep -- in the process of demonstrating Trump's net worth.
For example, Cohen described using the documents in a meeting with a journalist from real estate news site "The Real Deal" to "create the story about how much Trump was actually worth," Cohen said.
According to Cohen, Trump Organization executives used Trump's financial statements in meetings with insurance companies to obtain lower premiums, and Trump would occasionally attend these meetings to help move the process along.
"About three quarters of the way through the meeting, Mr. Trump would then come in, and there would be an extended conversion about his net worth, and that he was richer than the insurance companies," Cohen testified, adding that Trump's drop-in to the meeting was pre-planned.
Trump's financial statement also proved vital when Trump attempted to get a line of credit for a 2014 bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills, according to Cohen.
"We can all agree that Mr. Trump never owned the Buffalo Bills," Judge Engoron remarked.
Controller denies keeping documents from outside accountants
Longtime Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney, a defendant in the attorney general's case, denied withholding any documents from the company's outside accountants -- appearing to contradict testimony from Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender.
"We provided him everything he needed," McConney said, adding that Bender could request any document he wanted from the Trump Organization.
McConney, testifying for the defense, added that Bender also could directly communicate with individuals in the Trump Organization to directly ask questions during the process of organizing Trump's financial statements that are at the center of the case.
"Bender would come in and talk to anyone he wanted," McConney said.
When Bender testified last month during the state's case, he said that he directly asked McConney if the company had more appraisals, to which McConney responded, "That's all we have."
"They were not giving us all the documents that we needed, potentially, to compile the compilation," Bender testified.
Asked about the allegation on the witness stand, McConney denied he withheld anything from Bender.
"Did you ever hide anything from Donald Bender?" defense attorney Jesus Suarez asked.
"No," McConney responded.