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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Trump expected in court for 2nd day

Former President Donald Trump signaled he will be in court again Tuesday morning in a post on his social media platform.

"See you in Court Tuesday morning," Trump posted.

The former president then went on to attack New York Attorney General Letitia James. He claimed he had a "good day at trial" during Monday's proceedings.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa


1st witness eyes Trump's decade-old financial statements

Testifying about the preparation of the Trump Organization's statements of financial condition in 2011, former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender said Trump executives largely provided the input data for statements, in addition to dictating the standards by which the work was completed.

"We would cut and paste that information into a new worksheet," Bender said about the approach taken by Mazar after receiving new data from co-defendant Jeffrey McConney of the Trump Organization.

When asked about the compliance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles -- which Bender testified are the standards for accounting in the United States -- Bender repeatedly placed responsibility in the lap of the Trump organization.

"That was the Trump Organization's responsibility," Bender testified about GAAP compliance.

Bender acknowledged that he rarely questioned the inputs from the Trump Organization, and when he did, he largely dealt with McConney and executives other than Trump and his adult sons.

Repeatedly asked by the state attorney if Mazars would have issued the statements if they had known the Trump Organization included material misrepresentations in their data, Bender reiterated that Mazars would not have issued the statements.

When Judge Engoron remarked at the end of the trial day that the state would still need to present further evidence to prove that the 2011 statement was within the statute of limitations, Trump seized the statement as a partial victory.

"The last five minutes was outstanding, because the judge actually conceded that the statute of limitations … is in effect," Trump told reporters as he was leaving court.

Engoron, however, did not completely rule out the 2011 evidence during trial, instead appearing to remind counsel that they need to show the 2011 statement represents an ongoing concern that falls within the statute of limitations.

Testimony is scheduled to resume on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.


Ex-accountant says statements were 'Trump Org's responsibility'

Prosecutors have called their first witness to the stand: Donald Bender, a former accountant at Mazars USA, the firm that for years handled Trump's taxes.

Bender testified at length about his involvement in compiling Trump's statements of financial condition between 2011 and 2020, which he described as "balance [sheets] of Mr. Trump's assets and liabilities."

Bender said the standards and inputs for the statements were largely decided by Trump Organization executives.

"That was the Trump Organization's responsibility," Bender said about the accounting standard used in the statements.

As Bender answered the state's questions, Trump was seen taking notes at the defense table.

Bender described spending roughly half his time on Trump's business and personal financial matters toward the end of his career at Mazars.

The firm severed its business relationship with Trump last year after learning of the attorney general's findings during the AG's probe.


Trump indicates he'll attend more days

Former President Trump took swipes at the attorney general and the judge overseeing his case during a break, calling the trial a "disgrace," and saying that he will return over the course of proceedings.

"I'll be seeing a lot of you," he told reporters, "because this is a horrible thing that's happening to this country."

He again claimed the civil lawsuit brought by AG Letitia James -- as well as the litany of other cases he faces -- are politically motivated.

"If I weren't leading in all the polls, or if I weren't running, I wouldn't have any of these cases," Trump said.


Trump Organization executive explains valuations

Patrick Birney had been working for the Trump Organization for more than two years when a magazine article prompted him to change Trump's financial statement, the executive testified.

"There was an article written that stated that Mr. Trump's triplex was actually 10,900 or so square feet," Birney said, referring to a 2017 Forbes magazine article that alleged Trump had been lying about the size of his residence. (Judge Engoron decided in his partial summary judgment last month that the size was misrepresented.)

Birney, who was an assistant VP at the time, testified that Trump Organization executives, including former CFO Allen Weisselberg, "verified" the size and adjusted the next year's statement of financial condition. As a result, the penthouse was valued at $116 million in 2017 -- a steep drop from the 2016 valuation of $327 million.

Birney testified that he looked up comparable properties to come up with the value of the apartment going forward.

"I Google searched recent penthouse sales in Manhattan," Birney said, eventually landing on an web article about a penthouse purchased by billionaire Ken Griffin that set the record for most expensive home ever sold in the United States.

A price-per-square-foot for Trump's penthouse was determined based on that record-breaking sale, Birney said.

When Birney was tasked with finding comparable properties to value Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, he similarly searched for nearby Palm Beach homes. However, Trump signed a deed in 2002 that limited Mar-a-Lago's purpose to a social club, the New York attorney general alleges, making the price of nearby residences irrelevant.

Asked if he was ever told about the deed by anyone at the Trump Organization, Birney replied, "I don't believe I was." Instead, he said he first learned about it during an "interview with the attorney general's office."

Court then adjourned for the day, with Birney's testimony scheduled to resume tomorrow morning.