Trump officially owes $455m plus $112,000 in daily interest in final fraud ruling
Court officials have formally approved a final judgment against Donald Trump and his co-defendants in a sprawling fraud case in New York.
The former president, his adult sons, two former Trump Organization executives and the entities associated with the brand-building properties in the Trump real estate empire are now on the hook for more than $464m.
A total judgment against Mr Trump is nearly $455m.
Post-judgment interest is accruing daily at the rate of 9 per cent per annum, or more than $114,000 for all defendants, including nearly $112,000 for Mr Trump alone.
This week, New York County Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron rejected requests from Mr Trump’s attorneys to delay the judgment, telling them in an email this week that there is “no room for further debate” and “no basis” to stall
“You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay,” the judge wrote on Thursday. “I am confident that the Appellate Division will protect your appellate rights.”
The judge approved the terms of the final judgment, and a court clerk signed off on the document on Friday.
Following a three-year investigation and 11 weeks of testimony in a closely watched trial in Manhattan, the judge’s 92-page ruling on 16 February finds Mr Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, former Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney, and companies behind Mr Trump’s brand-building properties liable for falsely inflating his net worth and assets to secure favourable financing terms over a decade.
The defendants were also found liable for intentionally falsifying business records, conspiring to do so, and “repeatedly and persistently” issuing false financial statements.
Mr Trump is barred from serving in top roles at any New York company, including his own, for three years. His adult sons – including Eric Trump, who effectively is running the Trump Organization – are also on the hook for $4m each and face two-year bans from business, throwing into doubt the Trump family’s ability to run a vital part of its empire.
The total “disgorgement” owed back to the state among all the defendants – money that is effectively forfeited as “ill-gotten gains” – amounts to roughly $364m, plus interest.
A draft of the terms of a final judgment New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office largely mirrored the decision from Judge Engoron, with the addition of the 9 per cent per year interest rate.
Trump family attorney Clifford Robert argued that the attorney general rushed the process.
An appeal would require the former president to pay the full judgment in the form of a deposit with the court or pay a surety bond to put up the costs for him, but at a significant premium that he can’t recoup.
He has 30 days from the judgment to file his appeal.
During a taped deposition in the case last year, Mr Trump claimed that he has more than $400m in cash available to him.
His 2021 statement of financial condition – the documents at the centre of the fraud case, and the most recent available from the trial – stated that he had roughly $294m in cash, a figure that Ms James alleges is inflated.
According to Ms James’s lawsuit and the judge’s filing ruling, the disgorgement from Mr Trump’s loan savings in the fraud scheme amounts to more than $168m.
Disgorgement from the sale of the Old Post Office hotel property in Washington DC totals $126m. He owes another $20m in interest.
His total from the sale of the Ferry Point golf course in New York amounts to $60m. With interest, it adds another $3.5m.
Donald Jr and Eric Trump are also liable for $4m each.
The defendants have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and insisted that there were “no victims” while blatsing the lawsuit and court proceedings as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
