New York State Judge Arthur Engoron today ordered Donald Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and other defendants and companies to pay fines and penalties that with interest total $463.9 million as of Feb. 16, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James. Engoron made public his decision that specifies amounts due totaling $364 million with Donald Trump himself named as culpable for $355 million. Trump and other defendants in the case were found guilty of committing bank, insurance and tax fraud along with falsifying business records. Engoron ruled in the fraud case that had been filed by James. Engoron also ordered that Donald Trump be barred from serving as a director or officer of a company doing business in New York state for three years.
Engoron summarized the case by writing in his order, “Donald Trump and entities he controls own many valuable properties, including office buildings, hotels, and golf courses. Acquiring and developing such properties required huge amounts of cash. Accordingly, the entities borrowed from banks and other lenders. The lenders required personal guarantees from Donald Trump, which were based on statements of financial condition compiled by accountants that Donald Trump engaged. The accountants created these ‘compilations’ based on data submitted by the Trump entities. In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements. When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants’ fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences. As detailed herein, this Court now finds defendants liable, continues the appointment of an Independent Monitor, orders the installation of an Independent Director of Compliance, and limits defendants’ right to conduct business in New York for a few years.”
What follows are excerpts from the order issued by Engoron. The Seven Springs LLC cited by Engoron is the owner of the Trump Seven Springs Estate property in Westchester.
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ORDERED that defendants Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr, Eric Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey McConney, the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Trump Organization, Inc., Trump Organization LLC, DJT Holdings LLC, DJT Holdings Managing Member, Trump Endeavor 12 LLC, 401 North Wabash Venture LLC, Trump Old Post Office LLC, 40 Wall Street LLC, and Seven Springs LLC are liable under the second, third, fourth, fifth, and seventh causes of action;
and it is further ORDERED that defendants Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney are liable under the sixth cause of action;
and it is further ORDERED that defendants Donald Trump, the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Trump Organization, Inc., Trump Organization LLC, DJT Holdings LLC, DJT Holdings Managing Member, Trump Endeavor 12 LLC, 401 North Wabash Venture LLC, Trump Old Post Office LLC, 40 Wall Street LLC, are jointly and severally liable to plaintiff in the amount of $168,040,168, with pre-judgment interest from March 4, 2019;
and it is further ORDERED that defendants Donald Trump, the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Trump Organization, Inc., and Trump Organization LLC, and the Trump Old Post Office LLC are jointly and severally liable to plaintiff in the amount of $126,828,600, with pre-judgment interest from May 11, 2022;
and it is further ORDERED that defendants Donald Trump, the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Trump Organization, Inc., and Trump Organization LLC are jointly and severally liable to plaintiff in the amount of $60,000,000, with pre-judgment interest from June 26, 2023;
and it is further ORDERED that defendant Eric Trump is liable to plaintiff in the amount of $4,013,024, with pre-judgment interest from May 11, 2022;
and it is further ORDERED that defendant Donald Trump, Jr. is liable to plaintiff in the amount of $4,013,024, with pre-judgment interest from May 11, 2022;
and it is further ORDERED that defendant Allen Weisselberg is liable to plaintiff in the amount of $1,000,000, with pre-judgment interest from January 9, 2023;
and it is further ORDERED that defendants Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney are hereby permanently enjoined from serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State;
and it is further ORDERED that defendants Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg, and Jeffrey McConney are hereby enjoined from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years;
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Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., were enjoined from serving as an officer or director of a New York company for two years.
Engoron did not order Trump to dissolve all of his companies in New York and liquidate all of the Trump real estate holdings as it had been speculated Engoron might order.
James’ lawsuit against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, senior management, and involved entities charged they engaged in years of financial fraud to obtain a host of economic benefits. The lawsuit alleges that Donald Trump, with the help of his children Donald Trump, Jr., and Eric Trump, and senior executives at the Trump Organization, falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums, and to gain tax benefits, among other things.
James lawsuit charged that from 2011-2021, Trump and the Trump Organization knowingly and intentionally created more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets on his annual Statements of Financial Condition to defraud financial institutions.
James alleged that the conduct was in violation of New York Executive Law 63(12), which gives the Office of the Attorney General special and broad powers to go after persistent and repeated fraud and illegality, which in this case included violating other state laws prohibiting the submission of false financial statements, the falsification of business records, and the commission of insurance fraud.
“For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them. Donald Trump stands out as among the most egregious examples of this misconduct,” James had said. “With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system. In fact, the very foundation of his purported net worth is rooted in incredible fraud and illegality.”
