Patrick Birney had been working for the Trump Organization for more than two years when a magazine article prompted him to change Trump's financial statement, the executive testified.

"There was an article written that stated that Mr. Trump's triplex was actually 10,900 or so square feet," Birney said, referring to a 2017 Forbes magazine article that alleged Trump had been lying about the size of his residence. (Judge Engoron decided in his partial summary judgment last month that the size was misrepresented.)

Birney, who was an assistant VP at the time, testified that Trump Organization executives, including former CFO Allen Weisselberg, "verified" the size and adjusted the next year's statement of financial condition. As a result, the penthouse was valued at $116 million in 2017 -- a steep drop from the 2016 valuation of $327 million.

Birney testified that he looked up comparable properties to come up with the value of the apartment going forward.

"I Google searched recent penthouse sales in Manhattan," Birney said, eventually landing on an web article about a penthouse purchased by billionaire Ken Griffin that set the record for most expensive home ever sold in the United States.

A price-per-square-foot for Trump's penthouse was determined based on that record-breaking sale, Birney said.

When Birney was tasked with finding comparable properties to value Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, he similarly searched for nearby Palm Beach homes. However, Trump signed a deed in 2002 that limited Mar-a-Lago's purpose to a social club, the New York attorney general alleges, making the price of nearby residences irrelevant.

Asked if he was ever told about the deed by anyone at the Trump Organization, Birney replied, "I don't believe I was." Instead, he said he first learned about it during an "interview with the attorney general's office."

Court then adjourned for the day, with Birney's testimony scheduled to resume tomorrow morning.

Trump Organization executive Patrick Birney testified that CFO Allen Weisselberg and controller Jeffrey McConney had the final say on Trump's financial documents when he worked under them.

"I was not the final decision maker," said Birney, who was an assistant vice president at the time.

Birney joined the Trump Organization in 2015, a few years after he graduated from the University of Michigan. He began helping with Trump's statement of financial condition in 2016 and eventually took over preparing the vital financial document, though he acknowledged in court that he initially lacked some basic knowledge about accounting and finance.

Asked if he ever had valued a property using a capitalization rate, he replied, "I don't think so."

Birney said he would often turn to McConney if he needed specific documents, and that he reviewed drafts of the statement with Weisselberg.

"He would review drafts with me that I would provide him," Birney said. He later added, "Allen Weisselberg had the authority to approve everything."

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has completed his direct examination, although he might be called back to testify by either the attorney general or the defense, Judge Arthur Engoron said.

"I am lifting the prohibition on discussing the case with counsel or anyone else," Engoron said about Weisselberg.

Trump Organization executive Patrick Birney, who as assistant vice president took over managing Trump's statement of financial condition after controller Jeffrey McConney, took the stand following Weisselberg.

Ex-Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg, under questioning from state attorney Louis Solomon, addressed the degree to which Donald Trump's three adult children -- Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka -- were involved in the day-to-day running of the Trump Organization during the period from 2011-2022.

"They wanted to get up to speed on how the business was running," Weisselberg said, noting that Trump's run for president accelerated their engagement in the company.

Emails entered into evidence from around that time suggested that the three Trump children requested financial information about the company's operations.

During one email exchange, Weisselberg directly asked Eric Trump to delay paying off a loan related to Trump's Seven Springs estate so it wouldn't affect the former president's cash balance.

"If we have to pay off the loan I would like to do it post June 30th as that is the date of your dad's annual financial statement ... to keep his cash balance as high as possible," the April 2015 email said.

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.