Donald Trump’s real estate enterprise has taken another hit, as he has been ordered to pay $354.9 million and banned from doing business in New York, home to many of his properties, for three years.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, launched a lawsuit against Trump, numerous of his businesses, and senior executives in September of 2022 after a three-year investigation for misleading and defrauding his lenders about his net worth, which he claimed was as much as $3.6 billion annually, with the goal to secure better loans for more than a decade.
James alleged that the widely recognized businessman had been engaging in criminal activity, including fraud, by misleading lenders and banks about the actual value of numerous of his properties and his net worth.
After a 3-month trial, Justice Arthur F. Engoron, currently serving on the Manhattan Supreme Court, concluded in favor of James and her fraud case against Trump, the Trump Organization and other parties involved.
Engoron required the defendants to repay almost $450 million in total. In addition, he placed a three-year restriction on Trump’s ability to lead or serve as an executive of any New York corporation. Under this three-year ban, Trump and his companies were also prohibited from seeking loans from any financial institution.
In his verdict, Engoron stated that Trump and the defendants are incapable of acknowledging and admitting to the wrongs of what they’ve done.
Trump’s children also fined as part of ruling
The names of Trump’s three grown children—Eric, Don Jr., and Ivanka—were involved in the lawsuit. While his sons, Eric and Donald Jr., were defendants in the case, his daughter, Ivanka, wasn’t. She had left the Trump Organization in 2016 and had no ties to it other than her last name, however, she was still required to testify.
Ultimately, the court mandated that Eric and Don Jr. pay $4 million each for the roles they played for the Trump Organization.
What else?
A temporary gag order was placed on Trump which prevented him from publicly discussing the court staff, but he was free to take aim at James and Engoron on social media.
Trump stated James and Engorogon had a political bias against him, labeling them “crooked” and “corrupt” and claiming that this was an attempt to meddle with the election.
In the ongoing race for the presidency against Joe Biden, Trump continues to face numerous criminal cases, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to.
