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 pays $15,000 in gag order fines
Former President Donald Trump's lawyers have paid $15,000 to the New York Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection on behalf of the former president for his two gag order violations.
Judge Arthur Engoron fined Trump twice for violating his limited gag order prohibiting public statements about members of his staff.
Trump was fined $10,000 this week for a statement he made to reporters in court, which Engoron determined was in reference to his clerk. He was fined $5,000 last Friday for inadvertently keeping a Truth Social post -- which prompted the initial gag order -- on his campaign website after deleting it from his Truth Social account.
"Without waiving any rights or remedies, including, without limitation, any rights to appeal said orders, on behalf of our client, we enclose herewith a check from our attorney trust account in the amount of $15,000 in accordance with the court's orders," defense lawyer Alina Hanna wrote in a filing posted today.
Trump's lawyer Chris Kise signaled in court Thursday that Trump will likely appeal the most recent $10,000 violation.
Tax lawyer Sheri Dillon concludes testimony
State attorney Louis Solomon concluded his direct examination of tax lawyer Sheri Dillon after a series of questions about an appraisal of former President Donald Trump’s Seven Springs estate in New York.
A 2015 appraisal of the estate valued the entire property at $56.5 million, according to documents presented at trial, though Trump’s financial statements valued the property between $261 and $291 million from 2011 to 2021.
Dillon, who Judge Arthur Engoron deemed a hostile witness Thursday, struggled to recall with whom at the Trump Organization she might have discussed the appraisal. She added that she could not recall if she mentioned the appraisal in relation to the value of the estate in Trump’s financial statements.
“I have no idea if I told them the [appraised] value of the property,” Dillon testified. She later added, “It’s not like every Monday we talk about conservation easements.”
AG sets schedule for testimony from Donald Trump, his children
New York Attorney General Letitia James will likely rest her case against former President Donald Trump during the week of Nov. 6 following at least four days of testimony from Trump and his children.
State attorney Kevin Wallace told Judge Arthur Engoron that the state plans to call Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday, followed by Eric and Ivanka Trump on the following Thursday and Friday, respectively.
The state’s final witness, the former president, will likely begin his direct examination on Monday, Nov. 6, according to Wallace.
“We like to keep families together,” Engoron joked as Wallace set the schedule.
Trump’s lawyer, Chris Kise, previously told ABC News that he plans to recall some Trump Organization witnesses for the defense’s own case, meaning the trial is likely to stretch into November or later before concluding.
Judge loses patience with state's questions
The testimony of Donald Trump’s former tax lawyer Sheri Dillon continued Friday morning after a hearing where Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Ivanka Trump to testify at the trial as early as next week.
State attorney Louis Solomon attempted to highlight development restrictions that Trump allegedly agreed to for two properties that appeared to contradict proposed conservation easements.
“Yes, it’s complicated. For the most part, it didn't matter,” Dillon testified, arguing that the restrictions would not impact Trump’s conservation easements.
After an hour of similar questions and responses, Engoron appeared to lose patience and briefly excused the witness from the stand.
“I feel we are two or three elements away from anything that is relevant,” Engoron said. “It seems to me this is becoming a game of gotcha.”
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.