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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'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.


Statements appear to ignore appraisals of undeveloped lots

Cushman & Wakefield executive David McArdle, who was hired to appraise the value of 71 undeveloped residential units at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, testified that he also conducted multiple appraisals for conservation easements at the property in 2014 and 2015.

Signing a conservation easement would allow the Trump Organization to give up their development rights and treat the difference in property value as a charitable donation, according to the New York attorney general.

By giving up the right to develop the 71 residential units, McArdle found that the donation was worth $43 million, according to an April 2014 appraisal. A later appraisal McArdle conducted in 2015 landed on a similar valuation of $45.2 million.

But Trump's financial statements from those years appear to ignore the appraisals, valuing the land from the undeveloped units at $101 million, according to documents entered into evidence.

"Based on the supporting data, the only source for the increase in the number of units and profit per unit were telephone conversations with Eric Trump," the New York attorney general alleged in her complaint.

McArdle also testified that he was consulted to appraise Seven Springs, a New York estate Trump purchased for $7.5 million in 1995.

To value the property, which could be subdivided into 24 to 26 residential lots, McArdle testified that he toured the site, consulted a local expert, and spoke with Eric Trump on multiple occasions.

"He had a very high opinion of the property, which didn't surprise me," McArdle said.

His appraisal ultimately determined the total value for the lots in 2014 was $30-$50 million, McArdle said.

But the New York attorney general alleges that appraisal was ignored in Trump's 2014 financial statement, in favor of a "false and misleading" value of $161 million for a portion of the undeveloped lots.