Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay a fine of approximately $355 million for defrauding banks, insurers and other interested parties by inflating his wealth in financial statements.
In his 92-page ruling, Judge Engoron emphasized that the defendants did not admit their wrongdoing. "Their complete lack of remorse and remorse borders on the pathological," the judge said, adding that the frauds in the case "shock the conscience."
Trump: This is a sad day for this country
Stating that he will appeal the decision, Trump said in a statement from his mansion in Florida, "This is a sad day for this country."
"A dishonest judge in the state of New York has ruled that I must pay a $355 million fine for building a great company," Trump said in a statement, likening the verdict to a political witch hunt.The total amount of fines to be paid by Trump is expected to exceed 450 million dollars with interest until the payment date.
This is the largest fine ever imposed on a former US president. It is stated that the fine is not enough to bankrupt Trump's "real estate empire", but it has damaged his image. Trump's total wealth is estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars.
Trump and his sons barred from running the company
The judge also barred Trump from serving as a director of the company for three years and from obtaining loans from banks in the state. Trump's company was also placed under court supervision and restricted from doing business.
However, the judge backed away from an earlier decision to dissolve Trump's companies and made it clear that the Trump Organization will continue to operate. Accordingly, Trump will continue to own the company.
Trump's sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were also ordered to pay $4 million in 2022, their share of the profits from the sale of Trump's Washington, D.C. hotel.Trump's two sons were also barred from serving as directors of the company for two years.
When Trump became president in 2017, he transferred his assets to a revocable trust and relinquished his leadership role, putting his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. in charge of day-to-day operations.
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The decision also ordered Allen Weisselberg, the company's longtime chief financial officer, to pay $1 million, half of the $2 million in damages he received. Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney, another longtime executive of the company, were banned from taking on any further corporate finance or leadership roles in the state.
As a result of the case, Trump and his co-defendants were fined a total of 364 million dollars. According to prosecutor Letitia James, this figure will increase to at least 464 million dollars with the addition of interest.Interest will continue to accrue until the date of payment.This latest fine for Trump comes after he was awarded $83.3 million in damages to journalist E Jean Carroll in a defamation case.A year ago, the court ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in another defamation case.
Trump has also been battling in the corridors of court over several charges, including paying marital hush money, hiding classified government documents in his Florida home and interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
