Judge Arthur Engoron ruled Friday that former President Donald Trump must pay over $350 million in damages.
Engoron also barred Trump “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,” according to the 92-page ruling. His ruling follows an 11-week trial on the lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleging Trump perpetuated years of financial fraud to gain benefits while building his business.
“In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements,” Engoron ruled. “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.”
Engoron already found in a September decision, which is on hold pending appeal, that Trump deceived banks and insurance companies by inflating his net worth and overestimating the value of his assets. He ruled in September that Trump’s business certificates should be revoked and his companies dissolved.
“[T]his Court hereby modifies its September 26, 2023, Decision and Order solely to the extent of removing the language ordering the LLCs cancellation en masse,” Engoron wrote.
Engoron also ordered Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. pay around $4 million each. Allen Weisselberg, former Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, was ordered to pay $1 million.
James argued in her closing brief earlier this month that Trump and his company should be required to pay $370 million, more than the $120 million she initially sought. (RELATED: Trump Could Face Completely Unprecedented Punishment In Civil Fraud Trial, Analysis Finds)
Engoron rejected in November Trump’s motion for a mistrial as “utterly without merit.” Trump had alleged there was “tangible and overwhelming” evidence of Engoron’s bias, claiming he was “co-judging” with his law clerk, Allison Greenfield, who has engaged in “public partisan activities.”
In October, Engoron issued a gag order blocking Trump from speaking publicly about members of his staff after the former president made a Truth Social post about Greenfield. He later imposed $5,000 and $10,000 fines for violations of the order.
Trump’s real estate empire is the only big business that had been threatened with dissolution under the state’s anti-fraud law, an Associated Press analysis of nearly 150 civil cases across 70 years found.
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