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 says fining Trump for illegal profits is 'an available remedy'

Judge Engoron, in an exchange with defense attorneys regarding the state's expert witness, said that levying fines against Trump -- one of the central issues being decided at this trial -- is "clearly an available remedy" despite the defense's contention otherwise.

Engoron already ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted "fraudulent valuations" for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.

Engoron's observation came during the defense's effort to preclude testimony from the attorney general's expert witness. In denying their effort, the judge also shot down the defense's argument that disgorgement -- fining Trump for illegal profits -- is off the table.

"For reasons this court has explained ad nauseam, that view is simply incorrect," Engoron said. "Disgorgement is a clearly available remedy."

Trump attorney Chris Kise countered that the state has failed to prove that banks would have done anything differently had they known Trump's statements were fraudulent. Kise specifically cited the testimony of Deutsche Bank executive Nicholas Haigh, who testified that loaning money to Trump was a "good credit decision."

"Several witnesses have testified that they would have acted differently had they known the statements of financial condition were fraudulent," Engoron responded.

"I think, to a certain extent, the defendants are whistling past the graveyard here," the judge added.


Morgan Stanley exec scheduled to testify this morning

Day 20 of the trial is scheduled to begin with testimony from K. Don Cornwell, who worked at investment bank Morgan Stanley in 2014 when Donald Trump bid for the Buffalo Bills football team.

He is scheduled to be followed on the witness stand by former Trump Organization executive David Orowitz.

The state's expert witness, Michiel McCarty, is then scheduled to testify later today about the financial implications of Trump's inflated assets -- context that is expected to guide the judge's determination about the size of fine Trump faces, if any.

Members of the Trump family are scheduled to begin testifying tomorrow, starting with Donald Trump Jr.


AG agrees to pause cancelation of Trump's business certificates

Lawyers for the New York attorney general, in a late-day court filing, said they support the court-ordered pause on canceling Trump's business certificates -- but warn that a stay of Trump's civil fraud trial would cause a "cascade of delays."

The filing comes more than three weeks after an appeals court, at Trump's request, paused the enforcement of the cancelation of Trump's business certificates that Judge Arthur Engoron had ordered in his summary judgment.

In today's filing, New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote she was "willing to agree to stay enforcement … pending the end of trial and entry of final judgment."

On the other parts of Trump's appeal -- including the request to delay the trial and arguments against Engoron's summary judgment ruling that Trump committed fraud -- James vehemently argued in favor of letting the trial run its course.

"Abruptly halting trial would thus sow chaos and result in an inordinate waste of both public resources and the time and resources of witnesses," James wrote, alleging that Trump is playing courts against one another to create delays.

"Moreover, any delay here would threaten a cascade of delays not only in this case but also in other pending criminal and civil cases against defendant Donald J. Trump," the filing said.

Trump's legal team has until Nov. 9 to submit their reply.


Trump CFO misrepresented source of appraisals, underwriter says

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg provided misleading information about Donald Trump's assets, according to Claudia Mouradian, an insurance underwriter who met with Weisselberg on multiple occasions.

During meetings with Mouradian in 2018 and 2020, Weisselberg claimed that Trump had strong cash assets and stable properties that had been appraised by third parties -- information that Mouradian said she used to determine that the Trump Organization was in "very good financial shape."

"It was a positive factor when he told me that. He was essentially saying the properties don't fluctuate in value during economic cycles," Mouradian testified about Trump's assets during a video deposition played in court today.

However, Weisselberg acknowledged in his own deposition that the Trump Organization did not use outside appraisers to value properties -- contradicting what he told Mouradian.

"I am understanding you correctly that you did not engage appraisers to perform valuations of properties for purposes of that statement of financial condition?" a state attorney asked Weisselberg in a taped deposition.

"Correct," Weisselberg replied, though he said he did not recall that he told Mouradian the opposite.

"It is not consistent with what he told me at the meeting," Mouradian said when shown Weisselberg's testimony.

Court was subsequently adjourned for the day.


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."