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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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.


Trump never risked breaching loan covenants, banker suggests

Deutsche Bank managing director Dave Williams downplayed the possibility that Donald Trump could have defaulted on the net-worth covenants included in his loans.

While both parties agree that Trump never defaulted on his loans, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that had Trump accurately reported the value of his assets, he could have risked defaulting on a loan covenant that required he maintain a net worth of $2.5 billion.

Defense attorney Jesus Suarez pushed back on that allegation by asking Williams about the severity of a covenant default -- i.e., breaching the terms of the loan -- compared to a payment default triggered by a missed payment.

"Generally speaking, a payment default is a more material default than a covenant default," Williams said. "It speaks definitively to the repayment of the loan."

Williams described a loan covenant as a "guardrail," and suggested that breaching the covenant would have brought Trump back to the negotiating table to adjust the loan terms.

Williams also reiterated that he was not aware of any loan or covenant defaults by Trump.

James is expected to request a fine of nearly $400 million for Trump's allegedly ill-gotten gains, including over $140 million based on the potential interest she says was lost by Deutsche Bank. By proving that the loan agreements were lawful, Trump's lawyers could significantly lower the fine Trump faces.