Court fines Donald Trump $500 million in civil fraud | New York

The Court of Appeals Donald Trumpruling on Thursday New York The state lawsuit accused him of exaggerating his wealth.

The decision comes seven months after Republicans returned to the White House. A panel of five judges in the New York Intermediate Appeals Division said the verdict cost more than $515 million and rocked his real estate empire, which was “overly.”

Judge Arthur Engoron after discovering Trump’s fraud by blatantly filling financial statements of lenders and insurance companies Order him A $355 million fine was paid last year. With interest, the amount has exceeded $515 million.

In total, some other Trump organization executives, including Trump’s son Eric and Donald Jr, have imposed fines, now exceeding $527 million and are interested.

“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defenders’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defenders pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Judges Dianne T Renwick and Peter H Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals court’s ruling.

Engoron also imposed other punishments, such as banning Trump and his two eldest sons Job from a company leader several years. These regulations Keep pausing During Trump’s appeal, he was able to pass Release $175 million in bonds.

Based on the advantages of the lawsuit and the fraud ruling of the lower court, the court dismissed the entire imposed fine and also filed a further appeal for the state Supreme Court.

The court spent a long time in domination, weighing Trump’s call after nearly 11 months of oral debate last fall. Typically, an appeal is decided within weeks or months.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state, saying the businessman turned into a politician engaged in “liar, cheating and astonishing fraud.” Her office did not immediately comment after the decision Thursday.

Trump and his co-defendant denied wrongdoing. exist The sum of six minutes After months of trial, Trump declared him “an innocent person” in January 2024, and the case was “a fraud against me.” He repeatedly insisted that the case and the verdict were political moves by James and Ndoron.

Trump’s Justice Department has Summon James to get the record Related to litigation and other documents as part of her investigation into whether or not she violated the president’s civil rights. James’s personal attorney Abbe d Lowell said the investigation into the fraud was “the most blatant and desperate example of the president’s political retribution campaign.”

Trump and his lawyers said his financial statements were not deceptive because they carried a disclaimer that stated that they were not audited. The defense also noted that bankers and insurance companies conducted independent assessments of the figures and paid back the loans.

Although the difference tripled the size of his Trump Tower penthouse apartment, he said the financial statements were (if any) low estimates of his wealth.

exist Court of Appeal Hearing In September, Trump’s lawyers argued that many of the charges in the case were too old, an assertion they failed to succeed before the trial. The defense also argued that James abused a consumer protection law to sue Trump and that private business transactions were not regulated were satisfied with the participants.

The law applies to fraudulent or illegal business practices, whether against everyday consumers or large companies, state prosecutors said. Although Trump insists that no one is hurt by financial statements, the state argues that these numbers lead to lenders at riskier loans than they know, and that honest borrowers lose when others encounter their net value figures.

The state argues that the judgment depends on sufficient evidence, and the scale of the fine is consistent with Trump’s gains, including his profits on loan-funded properties and interest savings by obtaining favorable clauses provided by wealthy borrowers.

Civil fraud cases are just one of several legal obstacles when Trump runs, wins and gets a second term.

On January 10, he was Sentenced in his criminal boom case Called an unconditional release, leaving his conviction on books, but putting him on jail, probation, fines or other punishment. he Appealing a conviction.

In December, the Federal Court of Appeal Uphold the jury’s verdict Writer E Jean Carroll, who committed sexual abuse in the mid-1990s, later slandered her and confirmed a $5 million verdict. Court of Appeal Refused to reconsider in June;He can still try to get the Supreme Court to hear his appeal.

The president also appealed the subsequent verdict, demanding that he pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million in defamation claim.