Judge to hear closing arguments in Trump’s $370M civil fraud trial
ABC News
A judge on Thursday will hear closing arguments in a court case that could dismantle former President Donald Trump's New York-based business empire.
After hearing 11 weeks of testimony, a judge on Thursday will hear closing arguments in a court case that could dismantle former President Donald Trump's New York-based business empire.
The final decision in Trump's civil fraud trial -- which Judge Arthur Engoron is expected to issue later this month -- could not only cost Trump hundreds of millions of dollars but also bar him from the New York real estate industry that propelled him to stardom and, later, the U.S. presidency.
Resting her case after presenting more than two dozen witnesses, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged that Trump, his adult sons, and his top deputies inflated the assets listed in his annual financial statement, known as a statement of financial condition or SFC. The statements gave Trump's lenders a false sense of confidence about doing business with him, which led them to offer Trump more favorable interest rates than he would have otherwise received, James alleged.
Based on the sale of two properties that relied on those financial statements, and on multiple loan transactions, James alleges that Trump's overvaluations allowed him and his sons to fraudulently pocket roughly $370 million over a decade.
