The judge overseeing the civil fraud case in New York against former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization has issued his long-awaited ruling, five weeks after the trial in the case concluded.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his company to pay $354 million in fines — a total that jumps to $453.5 million when pre-judgment interest is factored in. It also bars them from seeking loans from financial institutions in New York for a period of three years, and includes a three-year ban on Trump serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation.
Additional penalties were ordered for Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., who are executives at the company, and two former executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney.
New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the civil suit in 2022, seeking a penalty that grew to $370 million and asking the judge to bar Trump from doing business in the state.
Judge Engoron had already ruled in September that Trump and the other defendants were liable for fraud, based on the evidence presented through pretrial filings.
The judge had largely affirmed James’ allegations that Trump and others at his company had inflated valuations of his properties by hundreds of millions of dollars over a the course of a decade and misrepresented his wealth by billions in a scheme, the state said, intended to trick banks and insurers into offering more favorable deal terms.
Trump and his legal team long expected a defeat, with the former president decrying the case as “rigged” and a “sham” and his lawyers laying the groundwork for an appeal before the decision was even issued. He is expected to appeal.
Read Judge Engoron’s decision here:
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