Former President Donald Trump must pay $354.9 million for fraudulently overstating his net worth to secure better loan conditions, a New York judge ruled on Friday.
This ruling, delivered by Justice Arthur Engoron, also bans Trump from serving as an officer or director in any New York corporation for three years. The lawsuit, filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump and his family businesses of inflating his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion a year over a decade.
“In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements,” Engoron wrote in the ruling.
Engoron also ruled Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s adult sons, liable for multiple fraud counts, ordering them to pay $4 million each.
According to Reuters, the former president, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, deeming the lawsuit a political attack by James, a Democrat, is expected to challenge Engoron’s ruling.
This civil fraud case represents a critical threat to Trump’s real estate operations, especially as he leads the Republican nomination race for the 2024 Presidential Election to challenge President Joe Biden.
Following a contentious trial, Trump admitted to some property value inaccuracies but argued that banks had the responsibility to perform their due diligence. This legal battle is just one of several facing the former president, including four criminal indictments, amidst his strong position in the Republican political scene.
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