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
Eric Trump says he didn't know he was source for valuations
Eric Trump denied knowing that he was cited as a source for Donald Trump's valuation of his Seven Springs estate in New York.
"People ask me questions all the time, but I never worked on the statement of financial condition," Eric Trump said when asked about two phone conversations cited by Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney to determine the value of the estate.
While Eric Trump said he had no reason to doubt that the conversations about the estate took place, he denied knowing they were used to value the property in Trump's financial statements.
"I don't believe I ever saw or worked on a statement of financial condition," Eric Trump said.
As heir apparent, Eric Trump could face high stakes
Eric Trump, the heir apparent to the Trump Organization, could face particularly high stakes on the stand.
Gaining power in his family's firm once his father became U.S. president, Eric Trump is responsible for "all aspects of management and operation of the Trump Organization," according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
While his brother Donald Trump Jr. was sparsely mentioned by witnesses during the first five weeks of the trial, Eric Trump was described by witnesses as involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, as well as leading projects for multiple properties that were allegedly inflated in his father's statements of financial condition.
Unlike his brother Donald Trump Jr. -- who certified those statements between 2016 and 2021 -- Eric Trump is alleged to have signed "several guarantor compliance certificates" for his father, that relied on the financial statements.
"I've done a lot to jog my memory and I simply can't, because I don't think I've had any involvement in the statement of financial condition, to the best of my knowledge," Eric Trump said during the deposition he gave in the course of the AG's investigation.
As part of the penalty she is seeking, James has requested that the court bar Eric Trump -- as well as his brother and father -- from serving as an officer in any New York State corporation or business entity.
Eric Trump takes the stand
"The people call Eric Trump," state attorney Andrew Amer said as Donald Trump's second son took the stand.
"Is it fair to view the hierarchy of the Trump Organization as a pyramid with your father at the top?" Amer asked Eric Trump, an executive vice president with the firm.
"Yes," Eric Trump said. "I worked with many people but ultimately reported to my father."
Donald Trump Jr. concludes testimony
Donald Trump Jr. has stepped down from the stand after testifying yesterday afternoon and this morning.
Trump Jr., who appeared comfortable and often smiled at the judge during most of his direct examination, began to invoke attorney-client privilege toward the end of his testimony, when he was asked about conversations within the Trump Organization after executives there learned of the New York attorney general's probe.
"Did you have anything to do with the statements of financial condition?" the judge intervened to ask Trump Jr. about the documents at the center of the AG's case.
"No, I did not, your honor," Trump Jr. said.
Defense lawyers declined to cross examine their own client.
Trial scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET
The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, et al, is scheduled to get underway in lower Manhattan at 10 a.m. with opening statements.
If opening statements are completed before the end of the day, the New York attorney general plans to begin her case by calling Trump's former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender to the stand.
Mazars severed its business relationship with the former president last year after learning of the attorney general's findings during the AG's probe.