AG Letitia James slammed for threatening to seize Donald Trump’s assets if he fails to pay $355M fine

NEW YORK: If Donald Trump does not pay the $355 million judgment against him, New York Attorney General Letitia James promised on Tuesday, February 20, to seek a judge to confiscate his assets, including some of his highly valued properties in the Big Apple.

While talking to ABC News, James said, "If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets."

Letitia James could seize Donald Trump’s assets if he ignores $355M fine

As per James, the former president will have to pay the money even if he tries to appeal Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's shocking ruling from Friday, which fined Trump an astounding sum.

According to the AG's office, Trump and others were ordered to pay a total of $450 million, or $364 million when interest is taken into account.

James said she is "very confident" that the real estate mogul, who denounced Friday's decision as a "complete and total sham," will not succeed in his appeal.

The state attorney general continued by saying that if Trump is unable to pay the hefty fines, she will not hesitate to pursue him for his other prestigious downtown buildings, including the renowned 40 Wall St highrise.

James added, "We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day."

James says financial frauds are not victimless crimes

James' lawsuit, which claimed that Trump had overstated his assets by billions of dollars annually on financial records for ten years to obtain better loan conditions, was tried for three months last year in a civil fraud court.

Throughout the hearing, Trump and his attorneys maintained no victims. According to Trump's camp, he paid back every loan and the banks they owed money.

"Financial frauds are not victimless crimes. He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering," James told ABC News.

"If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents," she added.

In response to Trump's assertion that Engoron's decision will force businesses from New York, James retorted, "Last I checked, tourism is up. Wall Street is doing fine."

Internet takes a jibe at AG Letitia James 

Many Trump supporters on the internet were unhappy with AG Letitia James' decision to seize Trump’s assets if he ignores the $355M fine. A user posted on X, "How can she do this legally? The 8th Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, but also mentions “excessive fines” and bail" whereas one commented, "Goodluck with that."

Another person mentioned, "She planning another "playcation"???" while one added, "Ah, excuse me, does she not know what an appeal is?"

A user also said, "If this AG isn’t imprisoned for all of this then we aren’t a serious country."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.