A New York court has ruled that the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, and his family business are liable for fraud in a civil lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Letitia James, in which the politician was accused of illegally inflating his assets and capital.
The official filed a lawsuit against Trump in September 2022, accusing him and the Trump Organization of lying for ten years about the value of his assets and his net worth.
It was alleged that he did this to obtain better terms for bank loans and insurance, the media reported.
James said that Trump inflated his own net worth by as much as $2.23 billion, and by one measure – by $3.6 billion, based on annual financial statements provided to banks and insurance companies.
Among the assets whose value was overstated, the attorney general named Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse in Trump Tower in Manhattan, as well as various office buildings and golf courses.
Bloomberg writes that the court’s ruling resolves “the state’s biggest claim against the former president and narrows the trial, which begins Oct. 2.”
The court will now focus on charges such as falsifying business records and issuing false financial statements, as well as the state’s demand for $250 million in compensation, the media reports.
Trump, who claims that the attorney general’s lawsuit is politically motivated, is likely to appeal the court’s decision, Bloomberg reports.
According to the newspaper, Trump is also making “last-ditch efforts” to postpone the trial. In particular, he argues in the New York Court of Appeals that the judge failed to narrow the case after the appeals panel recognized that some of the state’s claims may be “too old.”
The politician opposed the state’s motion for a so-called summary judgment. He said that the annual reports he provided to banks and insurance companies contained “strong warnings” that they should conduct their own assessments, the media reported.
In addition, Trump argued that the attorney general had no right to sue, as banks and insurance companies did not suffer any financial losses, Bloomberg concludes.
- In June, Trump pleaded not guilty to any of the 37 counts in the classified documents case.
