Trump ordered to pay $354.9m by New York court in civil fraud case
Al Jazeera
Former US president loses case; banned from serving as officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.
Donald Trump must pay $354.9m in penalties for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders, a New York judge has ruled, handing the former US president another legal setback in a civil case that imperils his real estate empire.
Justice Arthur Engoron also banned Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.
Engoron cancelled his prior ruling from September ordering the “dissolution” of companies that control pillars of Trump’s real estate empire, saying on Friday that this was no longer necessary because he is appointing an independent monitor and compliance director to oversee Trump’s businesses.
The lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his family businesses of overstating his net worth by as much as $3.6bn a year over a decade to fool bankers into giving him better loan terms.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the case a political vendetta by James, an elected Democrat. Trump is expected to appeal Friday’s ruling by Engoron.
