‘Best news in 2024’: Internet rejoices as New York AG seeks $370M penalty for Trump in civil fraud trial

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: The Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, has submitted a comprehensive document as per the court's order, on Friday, January 5, outlining her proposed findings and conclusions in the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump.

The scheduled closing arguments in this highly publicized trial are set to take place on January 11, 2024, per a report from Law&Crime.

AG James has recommended that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron impose a lifetime ban on Trump from the New York real estate industry, and levy a hefty penalty of $370 million for his "repeated and persistent fraud".

What did the New York Attorney General state in her court filing?

Attorney General James claimed in the filing that because Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, and Jeffrey McConney, the former controller of the Trump Organization, "worked together for years to inflate Trump's net worth while concealing the fraud from counterparties," they were all handed "lifetime" bans from "participating in the real estate industry in New York State or from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity".

James also stated that there is ample evidence that "between 2014 and 2021, defendants overvalued the assets... between $812 million and $2.2 billion dollars," that they "committed the alleged illegal acts with the requisite intent to defraud when they employed numerous deceptive schemes to falsely inflate more than a dozen assets on the SFCs (statements of financial condition) over 11 years," and that they "reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains" as outcome.

"The myriad deceptive schemes they employed to inflate asset values and conceal facts were so outrageous that they belie innocent explanation," James stated in the document, per Fox News.

As a result of that, James added, “lifetime injunctions” prohibiting the former President, Weisselberg, and McConney from doing real estate business in New York are “necessary and appropriate".

Additionally, the New York Attorney General proposed a five-year ban for Donald Trump’s sons, stating, “For Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the current co-leaders of the company, a five-year bar on participating in the real estate industry in New York State or serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity is necessary and appropriate.”

She evidenced her claims, saying, “The evidence establishes that Eric Trump was aware of and participated in the fraudulent scheme at least as early as 2012. (Supra II.A.2.e) In 2017, Donald Trump, Jr. took over responsibility for the SFC together with Weisselberg. Under their direction, the scheme continued unabated through 2021. And even if the Court were to credit their claims that they had no knowledge of what was contained in the SFCs or how the asset values were calculated, a bar would be appropriate, nevertheless.”

AG James noted, “The two would have falsely certified time and again that they were responsible for the preparation of the statements, familiar with their contents and could assure counterparties that they were fair and accurate. If Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump certified as to those facts with no real knowledge of the SFCs, those lies are equally damaging to counterparties.”

James filed a case against Trump and his enterprises in the state, which led to the non-jury civil trial and she landed the knockout blow on the former President on Friday when she proposed a $370 million disgorgement penalty “plus interest".

She penned that Trump and “each entity defendant he controls should be jointly and severally liable for disgorgement of the decreased interest costs incurred during the period July 14, 2014 through the present".

In conclusion, the New York Attorney General contended that retired Judge Barbara Jones’ independent monitorship of the Trump Organization “should be extended for at least five years in the final judgment".

It goes without saying that since it was a civil fraud case, there's no possibility of charging Donald Trump and his associates with criminal intent or sending them to prison, but the massive financial penalty requested by AG James would have to be evaluated by Justice Engoron who will give his final verdict in five days.

The court has already determined back in September last year that his businesses are guilty of fraud and installed a retired Judge to supervise them.

In addition to denying any wrongdoing, Trump and his family assert that the former POTUS has frequently stated that his holdings were, in fact, undervalued.

It would be interesting to see what their closing arguments would be, especially what Donald Trump would posit of the verdict in this civil fraud trial set to enter its closing stages on January 11, 2024.

Internet trolls Donald Trump amid looming legal defeats

People on X ridiculed Trump for the sins of his past are slowly catching up to him in a year where he's seeking re-election for the biggest seat in the White House.

One X user remarked: "That’s all? Only $370 million? Seems low for his billionaire image and reputed self-made man schtick."

Another user said: "This great news because Trump should have been banned from real estate years ago. He’s Conned his way to the top and brags that’s how a good businessman does business."

Another user wrote: "The Trump Era needs to end immediately, if not sooner."

One user quipped: "Waiting for his Untruth Social post!"

Another X user wrote: "She was seeking at least 250 million when the case started. It’s still ultimately up to Arthur Engoron on the actual amount, I assume? Shutting down his businesses was already in the works. Those closing arguments can’t come soon enough. Followed by the second defamation."

Another user stated: "It is a shame that they are limiting it to New York when he is clearly has taken fraud nationwide in his various venue operations. Other states should ban him as well using New York as their precedent."

One user remarked: "Everything about lying trump is either fraudulent or a grift. He most definitely should be banned from real estate in NY. The crook can’t calculate square footage and property values accurately."

Finally, this user tweeted: "That is the best news in 2024! I hope the court grants her request."

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