Former president Donald Trump and his family business are in an ongoing trial in New York to determine how much they will owe in penalties after being found guilty of fraudulent civil charges.
The charges— brought on by New York Attorney General Letitia James—were found guilty, determining that the former President inflated his assets by billions of dollars to secure favorable loans and insurance terms.
Although Trump’s role has been a major focus of the case, his sons — who held several executive positions at the Trump businesses—have also been listed in the suit.
The judge in the case, Justice Arthur Engoron, ruled on Sept. 26 that Trump and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated his assets by as much as $1.9 billion to $3.6 billion per year between 2011 and 2021 to save hundreds of millions of dollars on loans and insurance.
While Trump is not facing any criminal penalties, James is seeking at least $250 million in penalties, a ban against Trump and his co-defendants from running businesses in New York, and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.
In Enogoron’s initial ruling, he ordered the cancellation of essential certificates. This means 10 of Trump’s marquee properties —including Trump Tower and his golf clubs in New York will be dissolved.
The ongoing trial will determine the extent to which Trump and his organization will have to pay in damages now that he has already been found guilty of the fraudulent charges.
The past week has proven to be the media frenzy and dramatics that was previously predicted. Days into the trial Trump and his legal team have attempted to request a pause to the trial as they pursue an appeal for the initial ruling.
James has argued that Trump’s legal team is attempting to “sow chaos” by pausing the ongoing trial, and that if approved would cause a “cascade of delays” relating to Trump’s multiple legal matters.
This comes after Trump’s legal team submitted an appeal application arguing that the judge’s ruling regarding the dissolution of his businesses was “unprecedented,” incorrectly decided, and unfairly punitive.
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