UPDATED 10:40 A.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump won a bid to pause his $454 million civil fraud judgment if he posts a $175 million bond within 10 days, a victory for the former U.S. president that blocks New York state authorities from beginning to seize his assets as soon as Monday.
A mid-level state appellate court granted Trump’s request to delay enforcement of a Feb. 16 judgment against him for overstating his net worth and the value of his real estate properties to dupe investors and lenders while it considers his appeal in the case.
The decision eases an acute cash crunch brought on by Trump’s mounting legal expenses.
The attorney general’s office and Trump’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, had said on social media that he could be forced to sell assets at potentially “fire sale prices” to post bond in the case pursued by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
Before the pause was granted, Trump had until Monday to pay before James could have asked a court to start seizing his assets to satisfy the judgment, including prized real estate holdings like 40 Wall Street in Manhattan.
Trump continues having to balance raising money for both his campaign and his legal expenses – costs that are likely to rise as he faces four upcoming criminal trials. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the criminal cases and has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases.
In the New York civil case, Trump was found liable for fraudulently inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms. He has said the case is a political vendetta by James, a Democrat who filed the civil suit in 2022.
Before a three-month, non-jury trial in Manhattan, Justice Arthur Engoron found Trump had engaged in fraud by overvaluing properties including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower, and various office buildings and golf courses. The trial focused primarily on how much Trump should pay in penalties.
Trump in another case on March 8 posted a $91.6 million bond to cover an $83.3 million defamation verdict for writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he defamed her by branding her a liar after she accused him of raping her decades ago. Trump has denied wrongdoing and is appealing.
The criminal cases Trump faces stem from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, his handling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021, and hush money paid before his 2016 election to a porn star who said she had a sexual encounter with him years earlier.
In a separate case on Monday, Trump’s lawyers sought a delay in a New York state criminal trial over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, disclosing that new federal documents had emerged.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York;Additional reporting by Jack Queen in New York and Nathan Layne in Milton, ConnecticutEditing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder)
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UPDATED: 9:43 A.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.
Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company’s property values to dupe lenders and insurers.
On Monday morning, Trump wrote on social media that the number Engoron set was “fraudulent.”
“It should be ZERO, I DID NOTHING WRONG!,” he said.
The Trump campaign on Friday called for donations from “one million pro-Trump patriots,” saying that the “iconic Trump Tower” was among his properties at risk of seizure.
The case cuts to the core of his public image as a prosperous businessman. Trump rose to fame as a developer of flashy properties like Manhattan’s Trump Tower and often boasts of his financial success – even though his companies have at times struggled.
But Trump, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election, now faces a web of financial worries including campaign fundraising lagging behind his rival.
The judgment in the case was entered in Manhattan, where Trump properties such as Trump Tower or 40 Wall Street may be in the sights of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who brought the civil case in 2022.
James also has notified Westchester County, just north of New York City, of the judgment, a step toward potentially seizing assets there such as a Trump golf course and a 60-room mansion and estate called Seven Springs.
Taking control of Trump’s properties would pose a host of legal and logistical challenges for the attorney general’s office. Placing liens on them to ensure they are not sold or transferred and going after Trump’s liquid assets would be more straightforward.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated. The first former U.S. president ever to face criminal charges, Trump has been indicted in four separate cases, pleading not guilty in each.
In one of those cases, a New York judge on Monday is set to hear arguments on Trump’s bid to postpone a mid-April start date over charges related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 U.S. election.
‘FIRE SALE PRICES’
In the civil fraud case, Trump’s lawyers have said 30 surety companies have rejected his requests to post a bond securing the judgment, and have asked that he be allowed to post $100 million instead. They have asked a mid-level state appeals court to delay enforcement of the judgment.
During a 2023 deposition by the attorney general’s office, Trump said his companies had more than $400 million in cash. In a social media post on Friday, he said he had almost $500 million in cash, but intended to use much of it on his campaign.
“I will be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices,” Trump wrote on social media last week.
Trump came a step closer to a windfall on Friday after investors approved a $5.7 billion deal to list the company that owns his Truth Social platform on the stock market. Trump’s majority stake in the company, Trump Media & Technology Group, is worth about $3.3 billion.
But even if the deal gets completed this week, it is unclear if it would help Trump cover the judgment. That is because he previously agreed to terms preventing him from selling his shares for six months or borrowing against them.
Before the three-month, non-jury trial in Manhattan, Engoron found that Trump had engaged in fraud by overvaluing properties including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower, and various office buildings and golf courses.
This case is not the only one to drain Trump’s finances. Trump this month posted a $91.6 million bond to cover an $83.3 million defamation verdict for writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals. She sued him after Trump called her a liar for accusing him of raping her decades ago. He has denied wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York;Additional reporting by Jack Queen in New York and Nathan Layne in Milton, ConnecticutEditing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.
Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company’s property values to dupe lenders and insurers.
The Trump campaign on Friday called for donations from “one million pro-Trump patriots,” saying that the “iconic Trump Tower” was among his properties at risk of seizure.
The case cuts to the core of his public image as a prosperous businessman. Trump rose to fame as a developer of flashy properties like Manhattan’s Trump Tower and often boasts of his financial success – even though his companies have at times struggled.
But Trump, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election, now faces a web of financial worries including campaign fundraising lagging behind his rival.
The judgment in the case was entered in Manhattan, where Trump properties such as Trump Tower or 40 Wall Street may be in the sights of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who brought the civil case in 2022.
James also has notified Westchester County, just north of New York City, of the judgment, a step toward potentially seizing assets there such as a Trump golf course and a 60-room mansion and estate called Seven Springs.
Taking control of Trump’s properties would pose a host of legal and logistical challenges for the attorney general’s office. Placing liens on them to ensure they are not sold or transferred and going after Trump’s liquid assets would be more straightforward.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated. The first former U.S. president ever to face criminal charges, Trump has been indicted in four separate cases, pleading not guilty in each.
In one of those cases, a New York judge on Monday is set to hear arguments on Trump’s bid to postpone a mid-April start date over charges related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 U.S. election.
‘FIRE SALE PRICES’
In the civil fraud case, Trump’s lawyers have said 30 surety companies have rejected his requests to post a bond securing the judgment, and have asked that he be allowed to post $100 million instead. They have asked a mid-level state appeals court to delay enforcement of the judgment.
During a 2023 deposition by the attorney general’s office, Trump said his companies had more than $400 million in cash. In a social media post on Friday, he said he had almost $500 million in cash, but intended to use much of it on his campaign.
“I will be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices,” Trump wrote on social media last week.
Trump came a step closer to a windfall on Friday after investors approved a $5.7 billion deal to list the company that owns his Truth Social platform on the stock market. Trump’s majority stake in the company, Trump Media & Technology Group, is worth about $3.3 billion.
But even if the deal gets completed this week, it is unclear if it would help Trump cover the judgment. That is because he previously agreed to terms preventing him from selling his shares for six months or borrowing against them.
Before the three-month, non-jury trial in Manhattan, Engoron found that Trump had engaged in fraud by overvaluing properties including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower, and various office buildings and golf courses.
This case is not the only one to drain Trump’s finances. Trump this month posted a $91.6 million bond to cover an $83.3 million defamation verdict for writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals. She sued him after Trump called her a liar for accusing him of raping her decades ago. He has denied wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Jack Queen in New York and Nathan Layne in Milton, Connecticut; Editing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder)
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