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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Trump delivering closing could be risky, expert says

Attorneys Chris Kise, Alina Habba and Clifford Robert are scheduled to deliver closing arguments for the defense -- in addition to former President Trump, should Judge Arthur Engoron reverse his decision to bar Trump from participating.

Multiple legal experts who ABC News spoke with described Trump's attempt to deliver a closing statement as unprecedented and potentially perilous for the former president.

"One of the old adages is, 'He who represents himself has a fool for a client,'" trial attorney and Dartmouth College senior lecturer Bruce Fredrickson told ABC News. "The thinking behind that is you lose the objectivity and impartiality that an advocate can provide on your own behalf."

Closing arguments generally allow both parties to summarize the evidence and testimony presented during the trial -- but because Trump is not a lawyer, he would only be able to speak for himself as a named defendant in the case, according to trial attorney and ABC News contributor Chris Timmons.

"There's been a lot of damage done, and I don't know how much he can do to repair it, but he certainly can make things worse," Timmons said.


Trump, James arrive at courthouse for closing arguments

Donald Trump has arrived via motorcade at the lower Manhattan courthouse where closing arguments are scheduled to take place.

The former president pulled up shortly after New York Attorney General Letitia James arrived.

Traffic around the courthouse was briefly disrupted about half an hour before Trump's arrival by a group of protesters chanting "No dictators in the USA" as they waved signs and displayed a large banner.


Judge receives bomb threat ahead of closing arguments

Judge Arthur Engoron received a bomb threat at his New York home this morning, just hours before closing arguments are scheduled in Donald Trump's civil fraud trial, according to a court official.

In light of the threat, the court is adding additional security for the judge, the court official said.

Nassau County Police bomb technicians responded to Engoron's home out of an abundance of caution. Nassau County Police notified the court system of the threat, which they say they have determined to be unfounded.

Today's court proceedings are expected to proceed as planned.


Trump to attend court, still hopes to present closing statement

Donald Trump is set to attend his civil fraud trial today, where he still hopes to participate in the defense's closing statement despite Judge Arthur Engoron rejecting that request yesterday.

The former president last night dismissed the idea that spending time in the courtroom is impacting his campaign ahead of Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

"No -- we're leading by record numbers," Trump told ABC News.

The defense team's closings are scheduled to take place from 10:15 a.m. ET to 12:45 p.m. ET, while the state's closing is scheduled from 2:15 p.m. ET to 4:30 p.m. ET.

The defense plans to use most of its allotted time, and the attorney general's office has indicated their closing statement would run roughly one hour, according to emails shared on the court's docket yesterday.


'I don't remember,' McConney says about Mar-a-Lago valuation

Earlier in his testimony, before breaking down on the witness stand, longtime Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney drew a blank when asked why Trump's Mar-a-Lago property was valued in Trump's statements of financial condition as a private residence rather than a social club -- a central allegation levied by the New York attorney general.

The property was valued in excess of $500 million on the basis that it could be sold as a private residence -- despite Trump signing a deed in 2002 with the National Trust for Historic Preservation that exclusively limited the property to being used as a club. The Palm Beach County Assessor subsequently appraised the market value of the club at less than $28 million, significantly lowering Trump's tax burden.

"I don't remember off the top of my head," how the property ended up being valued on Trump's financial statements as a residence, McConney said, confirming that was the case.

He testified that he could not remember having a specific conversation with outside accounting firm Mazars USA about the approach to valuing Mar-a-Lago.

While McConney could not recall why the decision to value the property as a private residence was made, he said that he used a reasonable approach to determining a price-per-acre based on nearby property sales. He said that their comparable property approach resulted in a $50 million decrease in value between 2014 and 2015.

"Our intention was always to reflect as best we could the value of these properties," McConney said.