Trump ordered to pay over $350M for business fraud – POLITICO
The penalty caps a three-month trial in a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Tish James. It comes just weeks after a federal jury in a separate case ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to the writer E. Jean Carroll over defamatory statements he made while president in response to her rape accusation.
And combined with the $5 million penalty Trump was ordered to pay to Carroll in a separate trial last year, it means the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary now owes $443.1 million in judgments. (Trump is appealing the earlier Carroll verdict, and he has vowed to appeal the verdicts in both the more recent Carroll trial and the civil fraud trial.)
Its not clear if Trump has enough cash on hand to pay those penalties without selling any assets, especially because with the interest Engoron ordered Trump to pay, the total tab in the civil fraud case alone could amount to more than $450 million, according to the attorney generals office.
In addition to the penalties aimed at Trump himself, Engoron imposed measures that may significantly alter the operations of the Trump family business, known as the Trump Organization. Engoron banned Trumps two adult sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who are executive vice presidents of the company, from running New York companies for two years and fined them more than $4 million each. And he ordered a court-appointed monitor to continue overseeing the companys operations for another three years, requiring the company to seek her approval prior to submitting any financial disclosure to a third party.
Engoron also fined former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg $1 million.
Trump railed about the verdict on social media. A lawyer for Trump, Chris Kise, said the former president plans to appeal the verdict, calling the decision a tyrannical abuse of power.
The Court today ignored the law, ignored the facts, and simply signed off on the Attorney Generals manifestly unjust political crusade against the front-running candidate for President of the United States, Kise said in a statement.
James called the ruling a tremendous victory for this state, this nation, and for everyone who believes that we all must play by the same rules even former presidents.
In a pretrial ruling last fall, Engoron found that Trump systematically inflated his assets on financial statements, so the trial focused largely on whether those fraudulent statements were used as a basis for banks like Deutsche Bank to give Trump preferential terms on loans that he wouldnt have received if his net worth had been lower.
Because it was a bench trial, meaning there was no jury, Engoron alone decided the verdict and the scope of the penalties. James had asked the judge to issue a $370 million penalty and for a permanent ban on Trump doing business in New York.
In his written decision Friday, Engoron took aim not only at Trump and the other defendants actions, but also at their reaction to the accusations contained in the lawsuit.
Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil posture that the evidence belies.
James case included accusations that Trumps financial statements overvalued several flagship properties, including his own triplex apartment in Trump Tower. According to evidence presented during the trial, Trumps financial statements claimed the apartment was 30,000 square feet, when the true size was just under 11,000 square feet. James lawyers introduced a document Trump signed in 1994 that provided the true size of the property.
Engoron also found that Trumps valuation of his Florida property Mar-a-Lago was fraudulent from 2011 to 2021 because his financial documents based the valuation on the premise that it could be sold to an individual as a private residence, even though its deed prohibited such use. There is no legal gray area surrounding the permanent nature of the deed restrictions, Engoron wrote.
Trumps primary defense, which he has repeated publicly and which he invoked during an angry and rambling turn on the witness stand, is that his financial statements contained very, very powerful disclaimers and therefore werent intended for use by banks or insurers.
The trial in state court in Manhattan was the first trial Trump attended since leaving office and the first at which he testified. Trumps adult children, Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, also testified.
The trial was at times a raucous affair, punctuated by Trump and his lawyers repeated criticism of the judges principal law clerk, whom they disparaged as an improper influence on the judge and biased against the defense. Those criticisms, particularly a social media message Trump posted featuring a photo of the clerk, prompted the judge to implement a pair of gag orders one barring Trump from speaking about the clerk and the other preventing his lawyers from doing so.
The judge found Trump violated the gag order twice, fining him a total of $15,000. In evaluating the second violation, Engoron called Trump to the witness stand to testify, an unexpected turn that resulted in the judge finding that Trump was not credible as a witness.
In addition to his focus on the clerk, Trump frequently attacked Engoron himself throughout the trial, both in social media messages and to the judges face. During his testimony, Trump suggested one of Engorons pretrial rulings was very stupid and told him, Its a terrible thing youve done. You know nothing about me. Trump continually ignored the judges repeated instructions to provide direct answers to questions, instead giving rambling responses that often sounded more like clips of Trumps campaign rallies.
In his written decision on Friday, Engoron said he also found Trump testimony about the case itself to be unpersuasive.
Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial, Engoron wrote. His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility.
The trial also featured testimony from Trumps former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, who said that at Trumps instruction, he and Weisselberg reverse engineered Trumps net worth to meet their bosss demand for inflated figures.
Though Trumps lawyers took aim at Cohen, questioning him at length about having pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes and perjury in federal cases, Engoron gave him the benefit of the doubt. In what, financial penalties aside, might inflict the biggest blow to Trumps ego, Engoron wrote that he found Cohens testimony credible.
A less-forgiving factfinder might have concluded differently, might not have believed a single word of a convicted perjurer, Engoron wrote. This factfinder does not believe that pleading guilty to perjury means that you can never tell the truth. Michael Cohen told the truth.
At the end of the trial, Trump even delivered his own unsanctioned closing argument in defiance of Engorons efforts to corral the former president, accusing Engoron of having his own agenda and berating the judge.
But in his ruling, Engoron got the last word and seized the opportunity to finally curtail Trump.
Defendants refusal to admit error indeed, to continue it, according to the Independent Monitor, Engoron wrote, constrains this Court to conclude that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained.
Read the original:
Trump ordered to pay over $350M for business fraud - POLITICO
- Exclusive Interview: President Donald Trump speaks with 12 News - KWCH - October 19th, 2026 [October 19th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump to hold rally at the Sioux Gateway Airport - KTIV - October 19th, 2026 [October 19th, 2026]
- Skydance CEOs Pressed On Layoffs & Donald Trump Interference As They Outline Future At Town Hall - Deadline - October 6th, 2026 [October 6th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump announces $90 payments for seniors on Medicare ahead of midterm elections - Chicago Tribune - October 6th, 2026 [October 6th, 2026]
- Washington Post. . Protesters rallied near Arlington National Cemetery against President Donald Trumps proposed 250-foot arch. Trump has said it could... - October 2nd, 2026 [October 2nd, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration was partially funded by Russian oligarch, the couple confirms - AP News - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Russian oligarch close to Putin paid for part of Donald Trump Jrs lavish wedding - The Guardian - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Russian Businessman With Putin Ties Paid for Donald Trump Jr.s Wedding Party - The New York Times - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr.s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin - ProPublica - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- What we know about the Putin ally who allegedly funded Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding - Axios - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr. acknowledges Russian oligarch with ties to Putin hosted his lavish island wedding celebration - NBC News - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Who is Umar Kremlev, the Russian oligarch who reportedly helped pay for Donald Trump Jrs wedding? - The Guardian - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Trump say Putin ally paid for some wedding festivities as a 'gift' - BBC - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding in the Bahamas sponsored by Russian businessman - Le Monde.fr - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr.s wife defends wedding gift from Russian oligarch - The Hill - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr.'s wife says Russian oligarch hosted post-wedding festivities as a "gift" - CBS News - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Rejects Calls For AI Slowdown. That Changes the Game for Nvidia and AMD - Yahoo Finance - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration was partially funded by Russian oligarch, the couple confirms - Los Angeles Times - September 15th, 2026 [September 15th, 2026]
- The Future of Western Sahara Runs Down the Donald J. Trump Highway - Politico - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump Will Not Attend The US Open Final Featuring Ben Shelton vs Alexander Zverev: Reports - Yahoo Sports - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- Donald Trump says he would love to see united Ireland - The Guardian - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- Opinion | Donald Trump Is Not Going Anywhere - The New York Times - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- David M. Shribman: The winding road from old-school conservatism to Donald Trump - post-gazette.com - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- Forget President Donald Trump's $5,000 Dividend Promise. Investors Can Start Earning Passive Income Right Now With These 3 Fantastic Dividend Stocks... - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- Donald Trump says he loved backlash to Irish unity remarks - the-independent.com - September 13th, 2026 [September 13th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump honors first responders, FDNY on The Ellipse near the White House in honor of 9/11 anniversary - ABC7 New York - September 8th, 2026 [September 8th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump honors 9/11 victims and first responders during 25th anniversary ceremony - FOX 5 DC - September 8th, 2026 [September 8th, 2026]
- Donald Trump, 80, Sparks Confusion With Dramatic New Hairdo - The Daily Beast - September 6th, 2026 [September 6th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump Claims the U.S. "Should Have the Lowest Interest Rates Anywhere in the World," but Trumpflation and the AI Revolution... - September 6th, 2026 [September 6th, 2026]
- 52 of the most stupid things Donald Trump has ever said - Indy100 - September 6th, 2026 [September 6th, 2026]
- What game theory teaches Canada about negotiating with an untrustworthy Donald Trump - The Conversation - August 31st, 2026 [August 31st, 2026]
- Tariffs, the price of ground beef, and Donald Trump - The Washington Post - August 31st, 2026 [August 31st, 2026]
- Donald Trump reacts after Supreme Court allows White House ballroom work to continue - for now - Sky News - August 22nd, 2026 [August 22nd, 2026]
- I Did a Deep Dive Into Natalie Harps Letters to Donald Trump. One Particular Line Will Haunt Me. - slate.com - August 22nd, 2026 [August 22nd, 2026]
- Donald Trump and Michael Cohen bury the hatchet - NBC News - August 22nd, 2026 [August 22nd, 2026]
- Donald Trump to present Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II crew at Johnson Space Center in Houston - Click2Houston - August 22nd, 2026 [August 22nd, 2026]
- Midterms, Actually: The real electability question is about Donald Trump - vox.com - August 18th, 2026 [August 18th, 2026]
- This Cycle's Primary Ads Featured One Star, Regardless of Party: Donald Trump - Cook Political Report - August 18th, 2026 [August 18th, 2026]
- Donald Trump says it would be a terrible mistake to replace Fifas Gianni Infantino - The Guardian - August 11th, 2026 [August 11th, 2026]
- Donald Trump and the Folly of Hubris - The Dispatch - August 5th, 2026 [August 5th, 2026]
- Donald Trump has made US$2.2 billion in his second term. How does that stack up against other US presidents? - The Conversation - August 5th, 2026 [August 5th, 2026]
- Donald Trump blames Canada for wildfire smoke but global warming is loading the wildfire dice - The Conversation - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Donald Trump is stalling for time in the war with Iran - The Economist - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Santa Cruz teen lifeguard who saved boy from massive waves to receive invited to White House, President Donald Trump says - ABC7 Los Angeles - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Donald Trump has launched another Red Scare in the US its a favourite tactic of the right - The Conversation - July 28th, 2026 [July 28th, 2026]
- Donald Trump says decision on massive attack against Iran is close - The Guardian - July 24th, 2026 [July 24th, 2026]
- Donald Trump is deeply unpopular. Why aren't Democrats doing better in the race for Congress? - YouGov - July 24th, 2026 [July 24th, 2026]
- Donald Trump has stopped caring about the midterms - Salon.com - July 24th, 2026 [July 24th, 2026]
- Football Daily | Donald Trump gives himself starting role in the bigliest occasion of all - The Guardian - July 18th, 2026 [July 18th, 2026]
- Donald Trump bizarrely tells Gianni Infantino to host next World Cup in the US with China - Yahoo Sports - July 18th, 2026 [July 18th, 2026]
- Opinion | The Odyssey, by Donald Trump - The New York Times - July 18th, 2026 [July 18th, 2026]
- Donald Trump urged to intervene after Bryson DeChambeaus controversial Open penalty - Yahoo Sports - July 18th, 2026 [July 18th, 2026]
- Donald Trump calls for FBI investigation into Michigan election claims; Benson, Nessel push back - ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4 - July 18th, 2026 [July 18th, 2026]
- Homeland Security chief and Donald Trump appear at odds over ICE traffic stop pause - Bangor Daily News - July 16th, 2026 [July 16th, 2026]
- Belgium trolls USA, FIFA, Donald Trump after dominant World Cup win: 'Overturn this' - Yahoo Sports - July 7th, 2026 [July 7th, 2026]
- Donald Trump's 4-word response to Ryder Cup mockery resurfaces after Belgium's World Cup taunt - Yahoo Sports - July 7th, 2026 [July 7th, 2026]
- Belgium mock Donald Trump after knocking USA out of World Cup: Overturn this - Yahoo Sports - July 7th, 2026 [July 7th, 2026]
- 'Overturn this' - Belgium mock US President Donald Trump and FIFA after USA World Cup exit - Sky Sports - July 7th, 2026 [July 7th, 2026]
- Belgium Just Trolled Donald Trump Soooo Hard After Beating The US - Yahoo Sports - July 7th, 2026 [July 7th, 2026]
- Overturn this: Belgian team and fans mock Donald Trump and FIFA - Euronews.com - July 7th, 2026 [July 7th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Pays Tribute To The Village People's Victor Willis - Deadline - July 1st, 2026 [July 1st, 2026]
- Donald Trump Has Officially Lost the Plot - The New Yorker - July 1st, 2026 [July 1st, 2026]
- Donald Trump hijacked Americas 250 and turned it into a theatre of the absurd - The Guardian - July 1st, 2026 [July 1st, 2026]
- President Donald Trump, 80, Obsesses Over Crowd Size as His Fair Empties Out - The Daily Beast - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Weekly quiz: Who did Donald Trump anger after saying they begged for a photo with him? - BBC - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- How Donald Trump has changed the way diplomacy is done - The Conversation - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Pauline Hanson and Donald Trump both exploit voters fury. But her popularity is rising while his is at a low - The Guardian - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- Donald Trump's approval rating as of today; Trump approval rating now - Yahoo - June 22nd, 2026 [June 22nd, 2026]
- President Donald Trump unveils the new Air Force One, a converted Qatari jet - NBC4 Washington - June 19th, 2026 [June 19th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Hedges His Bet in South Carolina - FITSNews - June 19th, 2026 [June 19th, 2026]
- Donald Trump gambles that Iran wants money more than power - The Economist - June 19th, 2026 [June 19th, 2026]
- "Donald Dump" depicts Trump with sludge oozing out of his mouth - Boing Boing - June 19th, 2026 [June 19th, 2026]
- President Donald Trump Struggles to Clasp Medal of Honor on US Army Veteran for More Than a Minute - Yahoo - June 19th, 2026 [June 19th, 2026]
- California governor Gavin Newsom accuses Donald Trump of directing DoJ to investigate him and his wife as it happened - The Guardian - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- Donald Trump Says He Made a Peace Deal With Iran. Will It Stick? - Slate Magazine - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- DW News. . US President Donald Trump says the Strait of Hormuz will be "fully open" by Friday, June 19, when the US prepares to sign a... - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- As Donald Trump turns 80, he faces a foe he can never defeat: Father Time. Thats a problem for us all - The Guardian - June 14th, 2026 [June 14th, 2026]
- New batch of UFO files released by the Pentagon under Donald Trump administration describe spinning discs and more - ABC7 Chicago - June 14th, 2026 [June 14th, 2026]
- Donald Trump at 80: his life in pictures - The Times - June 14th, 2026 [June 14th, 2026]
- Donald Trump thinks the NFL should be renamed, says soccer should also be called football in the USA - Yahoo Sports - June 14th, 2026 [June 14th, 2026]