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.


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


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Ivanka Trump says father had 'deep and nostalgic love' of golf course

Following a sometimes-tense direct examination by state attorney Louis Solomon, Ivanka Trump is speaking more comfortably, showing more emotion, and offering more lengthy answers to questions during cross examination.

Asked about why the Trump Organization worked with Deutsche Bank to secure financing for its purchase of the Doral golf club in Miami, she spoke wistfully about the property.

"My father had a deep and nostalgic love for that particular property," she testified.

"He told me he took my mother there," she said with a smile, recalling her father bringing her there when she was a child.

"They were really impressed by what we had done over the course of several years in terms of upgrading and refurbishing the property," Ivanka Trump said.


Banks sought to promote ties to Trump Organization, says defense

Deutsche Bank sought to promote its ties to the Trump Organization in marketing materials a decade ago, according to emails shown in court during Ivanka Trump's ongoing cross-examination.

Trump attorney Jesus Suarez showed the emails to demonstrate a key pillar of their defense: that the state's allegations were victimless, and in fact, rather than getting bilked in loan agreements, bankers appreciated -- and even competed for -- the Trump Organization's business.

"I was constantly told by Rosemary and her team how much they appreciated our relationship and ... seeking to grow it," Ivanka Trump testified regarding Deutsche Bank executive Rosemary Vrablic.

Deutsche Bank asked Ivanka Trump to appear in promotional videos for their firm, the emails suggested.


Ivanka Trump says she received $4 million from sale of building

Ivanka Trump acknowledged that she personally received more than $4 million from the Trump Organization's sale of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., last year.

In total, she received $4,013,204 in profit after the building was sold in 2022, according to a document shown in court.

"That is consistent with my recollection, yes," Ivanka Trump said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James had pledged to show that Ivanka Trump personally profited from the fraud the AG says is at the center of the case.

Ivanka Trump has now completed her direct examination and is being cross-examined by defense attorney Jesus Suarez.

Under cross-examination, she repeated that she was not involved with reviewing, approving, or providing values for her father's financial statements, which state attorneys say contained fraudulent valuations.


Jared Kushner would lend 'perspective' on deals, says Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner, who like Ivanka Trump served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House, would frequently weigh in on her family's real estate negotiations in the years before Donald Trump became president, Ivanka Trump testified.

State attorneys shared emails Ivanka Trump had sent her husband during negotiations with bankers over loan interest rates. Asked by state attorney Louis Solomon why she would share those records with Kushner, Trump responded, "It is not uncommon that I would ask my husband's perspective on something I was working on."

"My husband also was in real estate, and would have perspective for me," she said of Kushner, who, like Ivanka Trump, is not a defendant in the case. "So periodically we would discuss what we were working on."

Attorneys for Trump challenged the admissibility of emails belonging to Kushner, citing spousal privilege.

Justice Engoron overruled those objections because they communicated over work emails.

"If you use a work email that is subject to being seen by other people, you waive confidentiality," Engoron said.


Deutsche Bank courted Trump for more business, referrals

Deutsche Bank executives courted Donald Trump to attract more business and referrals, viewing the former president as an opportunity to sell services to his family members and other high-net-worth individuals, according to the testimony of former Deutsche Bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic.

"Given the circles this family travels in, we expect to be introduced to the wealthiest people on the planet," Vrablic wrote to colleagues while courting Trump in the early 2010s, according to materials entered into evidence.

Recruiting Trump stemmed from a 2007 effort in the bank to develop a broader commercial real estate financing division for their high-net-worth individuals.

"He would have fit the category of the entrepreneur and investor with a successful track record," Vrablic testified on the stand regarding Trump's profile.

After being introduced to Donald Trump Jr. through Ivanka Trump's now-husband Jared Kushner, Vrablic began pursuing Donald Trump's business.

"We are whale hunting ... Haven't seen him yet. Also maybe Dad will convert like Ivanka did," Vrablic wrote in a 2011 email to a colleague.

"It is a term used when there is a very high-net-worth individual who is a prospect," Vrablic said in explaining why she referred to Trump as a "whale."

Once Trump was on board, leadership from the bank personally courted Trump to do more business with the bank and to connect them to other potential clients. The former CEO of the bank personally met with Trump with the express goal of gaining more deposits from Trump and leveraging Trump's relationships.

CEO Anshu Jain "thought that if Mr. Trump wanted to, there could be additional leverage provided among his world," Vrablic testified.

The effort appeared to work, as the bank made over $3 million in revenue from Trump in 2013, up from only $13,000 in 2011.