Former US President Donald Trump is facing a financial nightmare scenario as the court’s deadline to pay a huge bond approaches and his lawyers now insist he cannot afford it.
Mr. Trump is ordered to pay back $454 million (about $700 million) in bail after losing his civil fraud trial in New York. The state Supreme Court found that he and his company, the Trump Organization, chronically misrepresented the value of their assets to fraudulently secure cheaper loans and interest rates.
“In order to obtain more loans at lower interest rates, the defendants submitted patently false financial information to accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial reports,” Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in his ruling.
“Your complete lack of remorse and remorse borders on pathology. They are only accused of inflating the value of assets to make more money. The documents prove this again and again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin.
“Yet the defendants are unable to admit their mistake.”
Judge Engoron concluded that Mr. Trump and his company were “likely to continue their fraudulent schemes” unless the court issued “substantial injunctive relief.” Hence the huge financial penalty.
If Mr. Trump wishes to continue to appeal the ruling, he must either pay the full amount or post bail by Monday, March 25.
In that case, an insurance company would guarantee the amount owed under the judgment for a fee and would then owe that amount to the court if Mr. Trump’s appeal fails.
Without bail, New York Attorney General Letitia James could begin seizing some of Mr. Trump’s properties.
In a court filing on Monday, the former president’s legal team said it had proven “virtually impossible” to secure a bond of this immense size, claiming it unsuccessfully approached 30 insurance companies as part of its “diligent efforts.” .
“The amount of the judgment, including interest, exceeds $464 million, and very few surety companies will consider a bond of this magnitude,” his attorneys said.
That included supportive testimony from Gary Giuletti, an executive at insurance company Lockton Companies, who said Mr. Trump’s efforts included “contacting virtually every major guarantor in the market and spending countless hours negotiating with one of the largest insurance companies in the world.” “. .
“Although we searched the market, we were unsuccessful in our efforts to obtain a bond for the judgment amount,” Mr. Giuletti said.
“Under the circumstances, it is virtually impossible to obtain a $464 million appeal bond.”
Mr. Trump’s case is not helped by the nature of the verdict against him. To secure bail, he would have to provide an insurance company with information about his finances – the exact same information he has lied about in the past, the court ruled.
Ms. James has indicated that she is quite willing to seize Mr. Trump’s assets.
“We stand ready to ensure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers,” she said.
Trump continues to post angrily
Mr. Trump himself wrote repeatedly about the case on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday morning, publishing nine separate posts within two hours.
“The only FRAUD in the case of Peekaboo James, our failed and despicable Attorney General of New York, was that she convinced ‘Judge’ Arthur Engoron to award Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, worth only $18 million. “If it’s worth 50 to 100 times that amount,” Trump said.
“This was done fraudulently and illegally in close collaboration within a corrupt communist system to spread their narrative after learning that their values and facts were completely wrong. Businesses will flee the state as crime and violence among migrants continue to rise. I paid $300 million in taxes and this is what I get. WITCH HUNT!!!”
In his ruling, Judge Engoron noted that an independent appraiser had estimated Mar-a-Lago’s market value at $18 million to $27.6 million. However, Mr Trump had claimed the value was somewhere between $426.5 million and $612 million – which the judge described as an overestimation of “at least 2,300 per cent”.
Currently, if Mr. Trump insists that Mar-a-Lago is worth “up to 100 times” the $18 million estimate, the value would be $1.8 billion.
“Any company thinking about moving to New York State is CRAZY!” Mr. Trump continued.
In his subsequent posts, he described Judge Engoron as a “crazy, Trump-hating, renegade judge,” emphasized, “I DID NOTHING WRONG!” and claimed that having to post bail before completing his appeal was “a first.”
“I shouldn’t have to raise any money until the end of the appeal process because the corrupt judge and attorney general are forcing me to do so. That’s how the system works!”
Appeal bonds are actually common in US law and are imposed to ensure that the party appealing a court decision – in this case Mr Trump – pays the required amount if his appeal is unsuccessful.
“The corrupt political hacks in New York, Judge and AG, are demanding that I raise huge sums of money before I can appeal the ridiculous decision. Never done it before,” Mr. Trump claimed.
“No jury, no victim, full disclaimer, happy banks.” ELECTION INTERFERENCE! WITCH HUNT!”
Mr. Trump did not call for a jury in his fraud trial. Judge Engoron said he would not have granted such a request anyway because the state was seeking equitable relief – a recovery of ill-gotten financial gains – as opposed to damages like those awarded to E. Jean Carroll in her defamation trial against the former president.
Many crimes do not involve specific “victims”. For example, you can be prosecuted for driving while intoxicated even if you get home safely without hurting anyone. Technically it’s a victimless crime, but you’re still breaking the law.
Mr. Trump has been accused of increasing and decreasing the value of his assets to gain an unfair competitive advantage in the form of better credit or tax arrangements. Even if there is no specific victim, this is illegal.
‘That’s a scandal’
Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University, appeared on CNN to discuss Mr. Trump’s dilemma and was asked what would happen if Mr. Trump didn’t make his payments.
“Letitia James then seizes his property and places liens on all of his assets and bank accounts,” Prof. Goodman said.
“This is not limited to New York. At this point, (Mrs. James) probably understands where he has various assets in Florida. Mar-a-Lago and elsewhere.
“It would be fought out in some courts. But for that period of time (the asset) becomes truly useless. And how does he generate additional business if it is in foreclosure or seized by the courts?”
Meanwhile, former Trump adviser Stephanie Grisham, who served as one of his White House press secretaries, said the self-proclaimed billionaire’s struggle to raise the necessary money would be “very, very hard on his ego.”
She nominated 40 Wall Street, a property Mr. Trump owns in New York, as the property he was most likely to sacrifice.
“I mean, he would hate it. But I think if (Ms. James) had tried to take Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower, I think those are his babies,” Ms. Grisham said.
“Any of these properties with golf courses would absolutely ruin it in my opinion. It will be interesting to see what she plans to do.”
There is growing discontent about the situation among Mr Trump’s supporters. They believe the case against him was politically motivated and are now wondering aloud why his party’s biggest donors aren’t stepping forward to help.
“Why aren’t Republican multibillionaires offering President Trump the means to appeal this outrageous case?” said Mark Levin, a conservative broadcaster.
“Are none of them liquid enough to help, or are they joining forces with others to help? That’s a scandal.”