The new year might have gotten off to a rocky start for Donald Trump.
The former president faces $250 million in fines and a ban from doing business in New York when the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial issues a verdict in the case in late January.
The Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which has been on hiatus since Dec. 13, will resume with closing arguments on Jan. 11, and Judge Arthur Engoron has said he hopes to have a decision in the case without a jury by the end of this year. the month.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking at least $250 million in repayment of alleged ill-gotten gains by Trump, 77, and his co-defendants, including his two oldest sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
The 2024 Republican presidential candidate is accused of overstating the value of his assets by billions in annual financial statements to obtain better loan and insurance terms.
Engoron has already determined that Trump is liable for fraud, but other claims in James’ lawsuit, as well as a possible final penalty, have yet to be decided.
The judge could order Trump to pay less (or more) than the attorney general is asking, but one legal expert said he was more likely to rule that the former president owes the full $250 million or nothing.
Donald Trump faces a $250 million fine and a ban on doing business in New York when a judge issues a verdict, expected in late January. Gabriela Bass
“There hasn’t been a clear number of ill-gotten gains or losses, so I don’t know how the judge could come up with a different number,” Evan Gotlob, a former prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney, told The Post.
The court has heard from about 40 witnesses since the trial began on Oct. 2, but not much of the testimony focused on how much each lender or insurer lost due to Trump’s alleged fraud, making it unlikely that Engoron will present an explanation. different. number than the sum James is looking for.
“I doubt the judge in this case will exceed the amount because he has no basis to do so unless he has a forensic accountant reviewing a huge organization like the Trump Organization, all of their books and all of the improper profits they made,” Gotlob said.
The judge is also unlikely to set the penalty below $250 million, he said.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult, unless one of the judge’s clerks is an expert in secret finances, to come up with a significantly lower figure, based on what? The testing hasn’t really gone in any direction, so it’s either $250 million or not,” Gotlob said.
And he said judges tend to try to impose financial sanctions.
Judge Arthur Engoron will hear closing arguments on Jan. 11 and will issue his ruling in the bench case shortly thereafter. REUTERS
“When you’re a judge, you find out what they can pay, whether through bankruptcy or not,” Gotlob said. “I think the Trump organization is worth between $1 billion and $3 billion… there is money to pay.”
Engoron, in an explosive ruling just before the start of the trial, found that Trump was responsible for one of the attorney general’s main fraud allegations, and the judge revoked the Trump Organization’s business licenses.
The company can continue doing business since the last part of the decision was stayed by an appeals court at least until Engoron issues its verdict.
But even after the verdict is issued, Gotlob predicted it would be years before the case is concluded, as Trump is likely to appeal any negative ruling all the way to the Empire State’s highest court.
“This is a case that I could see, especially knowing how much the former president loves to fight decisions against him, that it will go all the way to the Court of Appeals,” Gotlob said.
One expert believes that if the judge rules against Trump, it will be years of appeal before Trump will have to pay up or stop doing business in New York. Gabriela Bass
The earliest the case would be resolved would be after the 2024 presidential election, since “courts don’t like to get involved in politics,” Gotlob suggested, adding that a final ruling could not come until 2025 or 2026.
As for the revocation of business licenses, Gotlob said he believes it will be years before Trump’s real estate empire feels the effects because the ruling is paused, pending appeals.
Even if the ruling goes into effect, Trump could find ways to avoid it, for example by running shell companies, the lawyer said.
Still, “the possibility of losing business licenses for a minimum of five or even more years is quite damaging,” Gotlob said.
“New York is like the epicenter of the business world.”
Judge Engoron will likely sanction Trump $250 million (the amount the Attorney General’s Office is seeking) or not punish him financially at all, a lawyer said. REUTERS
The real estate mogul is accused along with his two eldest children, the Trump Org and others in the case that accuses Trump of inflating the value of his assets in annual financial statements from 2011 to 2021.
Testimony at the trial lasted 11 weeks and featured the former commander in chief, children Eric, 39, Ivanka, 42, and Donald Jr., 45, all taking the stand.
The former first daughter was also initially charged in the case until an appeals court dismissed it, ruling that the claims against her were outside the statute of limitations.
The Trump four denied the attorney general’s claims and blamed accountants and lawyers for any discrepancies in financial documents.
Trump has denied the attorney general’s accusations that he is the victim of a political witch hunt. REUTERS Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump of exaggerating his assets for years to obtain better loan and insurance terms. REUTERS
Trump was in court for eight days of the trial, which he was not required to attend as if he were in a criminal case, and repeatedly attacked the attorney general and the case, as well as the judge and even Engoron’s top legal assistant.
Engoron issued a limited gag order on the second day of the trial barring Trump from speaking publicly about his judicial staff when the 45th president attacked the judge’s chief clerk, Allison Greenfield, on social media.
The judge fined Trump $15,000 and found that he violated the gag order twice.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn