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
Trump attorneys call trial 'election interference'
Members of Donald Trump's legal team, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse prior to the start of the trial, called the fraud allegations against the former president "election interference."
Trump's attorneys said that Democrats were using the case to fight Trump's efforts to retake the White House in 2024.
Attorney general arrives at courthouse
New York Attorney General Letitia James has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.
"No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law," James said to the cameras before entering the courthouse.
"Today we will prove our case in court," she said. "Justice will prevail."
Demonstrators across the street from the courthouse cheered and applauded as the AG arrived.
Trump on way to courthouse
Former President Trump is in a motorcade on his way to the courthouse in lower Manhattan where his fraud trial will get underway this morning.
Opening statements in the case are scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. ET.
-John Santucci
NY attorney general releases statement on 1st day of trial
New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement on Monday just hours before the first day of trial in her fraud case against former President Donald Trump.
"For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system," James said. "We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud. In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial."
"No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country," she added. "The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does."
NY AG seeks $370M fine, NY real estate ban against Trump
New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a written brief filed a week before the trial's closing arguments, asked the judge in the case to fine Trump over $370 million to disgorge profits from what James says is a decade of fraudulent business conduct, and to bar Trump for life from participating in the New York real estate industry.
The request for a $370 million fine, plus 9% annual interest, is a sharp increase from James' initial request for disgorgement totaling roughly $250 million.
The largest portion of the requested fine stems from the business loans the Trump Organization obtained using allegedly fraudulent financial statements. Based on expert testimony, James argued that Trump cost his lenders $168,040,168, which the banks would have made if Trump was given the appropriate interest rate corresponding to the actual value of his assets.
In their defense filing, Trump's lawyers called the attorney general's theory for disgorgement "fundamentally flawed, saying that "No lenders testified that they would have done anything differently had they known about Trump's misstatements, and James attempted to fill that evidentiary void with expert testimony, according to Trump's lawyers.
Trump's lawyers added that even if the attorney general proved that some of Trump's profits were ill-gotten, they lack the authority under New York Executive Law 63(12) to request the disgorgement.
Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for Jan. 11.