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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Judge extends limited gag order to cover lawyers

After multiple in-court disputes about communications between him and his law clerk, Judge Arthur Engoron modified his limited gag order to cover attorneys in former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial.

"Defendants may reference my staff as is appropriate to ask about scheduling issues or the management of the trial, which is an integral part of their jobs. What they may not do is to make any further statements about internal and confidential communications (be it conversations, note passing, or anything similar) between me and my staff," Engoron wrote in his supplemental limited gag order on Friday.

Engoron wrote that defense lawyers Chris Kise, Alina Habba, and Clifford Robert made "repeated, inappropriate remarks about my Principal Law Clerk, falsely accusing her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial."

The attorneys have raised multiple arguments during the trial that Engoron and his clerk passing notes between each other suggests impropriety and is distracting. Going forward, if the lawyers want to object to communications with his clerk, Engoron advised that they refer to the order as a "blanket statement."

"This gag order is as narrowly tailored as possible to accomplish its purpose, which is to protect the safety of my staff and promote the orderly progression of this trial," Engoron said.

To justify the safety threat, Engoron added that his chambers has received "hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages" since the start of the trial,

The judge threatened "serious sanctions" for violations of the extended order.


Eric Trump, leaving court, criticizes case against his family

Standing in the courthouse hallway where his father earlier railed against his civil trial, Eric Trump echoed his father's attacks on the New York attorney general and the case levied against his family, following the adjournment of court for the day.

"We have an unbelievable company. We have some of the best assets anywhere in the world. We've never had a default. We've never missed a payment," Eric Trump said of the Trump Organization.

Like his father, he described the case as politically motivated and decried the involvement of his family.

"They've dragged Don and I and Ivanka into it as collateral damage," he said.

Later, addressing reporters on the courthouse steps, he said that the state's efforts should be focused elsewhere.

"Let's get the murderers off the street. Let's take care of the crime. Let's rebuild our infrastructure. Everywhere you drive in New York, you hit a pothole and your car gets destroyed," he said.


Court adjourned for the day, with Trump on deck for Monday

Judge Engoron adjourned court until Monday, when the state plans to call former President Trump to the stand.

"We will reconvene on Monday at 10 a.m., and the first witness will be...?" Engoron asked state attorney Andrew Amer.

"The only witness will be Donald J. Trump," Amer said.


Eric Trump pressed on Mar-a-Lago valuation

Eric Trump has stepped down from the witness stand after facing an hour of questions from state attorney Andrew Amer.

Amer concluded his questioning by directly asking Eric Trump about the $2 million severance agreement between the Trump Organization and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg.

"Did you participate in the business agreement to enter into this business decision with Mr. Weisselberg?" Amer asked.

"Yes," Eric Trump said.

"Did your father direct you to enter into this agreement with Mr. Weisselberg?" Amer asked.

"No, he did not," Eric Trump replied. He reiterated, "I did this agreement with Mr. Weisselberg."

Pressed on the value of Trump's Mar-A-Lago property, Eric Trump denied knowing that the club was valued for tax purposes as a commercial property used as a social club.

"It is very clear that Mar-a-Lago is not a club, it is a private residence. I don't see anything wrong with that. 100 percent," Eric Trump said.

Previous testimony and documents in evidence demonstrated that despite the property being restricted by deed to club usage, Donald Trump continued to overvalue the property as if it could be sold as a private residence. Judge Engoron already found that the club was overvalued by 2,300%.

"Mar-a-Lago is a residence that could be sold to a private individual," Eric Trump insisted.


Trump financials cite phone calls that witness says didn't occur

Doug Larson's name appears across five years of Donald Trump's financial documents, according to records entered into evidence.

A longtime professional appraiser with the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, Larson was cited in Trump Organization documents as an expert at valuing properties like 40 Wall Street, Trump Tower, and an adjoining retail space called "Niketown." Spreadsheets entered as evidence explicitly reference multiple phone calls with Larson between 2013 and 2017.

When asked about these phone calls in court, Larson testified that no such conversations occurred.

"Is it fair to say that Mr. Trump valued Trump Tower at $526 million in conjunction with you?" state attorney Mark Ladov asked Larson.

"No, that is incorrect," Larson said.

"Were you aware that Mr. McConney was citing you as a valuation source in his work papers?" Ladov asked.

"No, I was not," replied Larson, who said he did not assist Trump Organization executives in valuing Trump Tower, Niketown, or 40 Wall Street, despite Trump's paperwork referencing him as a source.

Evidence presented by the state instead suggested that the valuations were determined using cherry-picked metrics from a generic email Larson sent clients.

"It's a way to get your name out to clients for potential work," Larson said about one such "email blast" that was used in a Trump Tower valuation.

Larson added that the valuations Trump Organization executives determined based on "consultation" with him used flawed methodologies, such as using capitalization rates related to office buildings to appraise the retail Niketown building.

"It doesn't make sense," Larson said about Niketown's $287 million valuation.

"It's inappropriate and inaccurate," Larson said about the Trump Organization relying on his name to support their valuations. "I should have been told, and appraisals should have been ordered."