Donald Trump fined $355 million in fraud case. What does this mean for his campaign, finances?
Donald Trump was paid $355 million on Friday after a New York judge found the former US president liable for illegally inflating his wealth and manipulating the value of properties to obtain bank loans and insurance on favorable terms. Was asked to do.
He was also banned from running companies in New York for three years. This aspect of the judgment is a major blow to his business empire and financial position.
There is no risk of imprisonment as this is not a criminal matter but a civil matter. The decision also bars Donald Trump from becoming CEO of Trump Organization and bars him from holding any top business office in the state for three years.
The former US president will also have to bring in a new independent “compliance” officer. The judge left it to a third-party monitor to monitor the former president’s Trump Tower and other New York properties. Monitors will be set up to ensure that the business follows financial reporting and accounting rules.
Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were also found liable in the case and ordered to pay more than $4 million each. Both of them, like their father, will not be able to acquire, take out loans or refinance, but for two years, unlike their father, who has been fined three years.
One of the biggest problems that Trump will have to deal with immediately is finding a way to pay the $355 million fine. In addition, he will also have to pay a high interest rate of 9% while he waits for his appeal in the courts in New York.
Trump would need to pay about 10% of the fine in cash to the bond company to obtain a security bond. Then, he must offer some of his assets as collateral to cover the remaining bond. This is because most bond companies require both cash and property to secure the bond.
A Trump Organization document presented in court during a fraud trial in 2021 said Trump had about $293.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, and a total net worth of $4.5 billion.
Trump’s New York real estate assets are estimated to be worth approximately $690 million, according to forbes,
forbes The former president is estimated to be worth $2.6 billion, including $870 million in golf clubs and resorts, $190 million in real estate outside New York City, and $640 million in “cash and personal property.”
However, the Attorney General’s Office disputed these figures.
If the appeals court reduces the penalty ordered by Angoron, Trump is likely to get back a significant portion of the money he owed. But the former president is expected to be charged a hefty, non-refundable fee by the bond company. According to lawyers, the fees could run into millions of dollars.
Trump’s ability to meet this requirement will also test his claims of being a multi-billionaire with substantial cash flow of hundreds of millions.
Trump will challenge the ruling
Donald Trump on Friday criticized a New York judge’s “sham” ruling that fined the Republican presidential candidate $355 million. “This ‘verdict’ is a complete sham,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform. He also described the judge as “crooked” and the prosecutor as “completely corrupt”.
“We will appeal the decision handed down by Judge Arthur Angoron,” Trump said outside his Mar-a-Lago estate. He accused President Joe Biden of pursuing the prosecution, calling it “weaponizing a political opponent” who is high in the polls.
However, according to a report New York PostThe challenge could take a few years to make its way through the courts as lawyers would first file an appeal with the state Appellate Division of the First Division and the state Court of Appeals in Albany would ultimately hear the case.
New York Post Citing veteran New York lawyer Ron Kuby, Trump’s legal team is “not fully equipped to deal with the exceptionally complex appeals process” and said the former president should “include someone on his legal team who is What needs to be done is to become more well versed in the Byzantine world of New.” York Real Estate Law”.
What other punishment will Trump have to face?
Last month, a Manhattan federal jury ruled that he must pay $83.3 million in damages to advice columnist E. Jean Carroll for defamation. A separate jury also found that he sexually harassed the columnist.
The former president must also prepare for a criminal trial in the ‘hush money’ case starting on March 25, which will examine whether he tried to conceal payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to conceal a sex scandal from voters. Had manipulated the records of his company. 2016 elections.