Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354 million, says frauds 'shock the conscience'
The former president was found to have defrauded lenders.
Former President Donald Trump has been fined $354.8 million plus approximately $100 million in interest in a civil fraud lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel him to the White House. In the decision, Judge Arthur Engoron excoriated Trump, saying the president's credibility was "severely compromised," that the frauds "shock the conscience" and that Trump and his co-defendants showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that he said "borders on pathological."
Engoron also hit Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump with $4 million fines and barred all three from helming New York companies for years. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his adult sons of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.
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Summary of penalties
Donald Trump and his adult sons were hit with millions in fines in the civil fraud trial and barred for years from being officers in New York companies. The judge said the frauds "shock the conscience."
Donald Trump: $354 million fine + approx. $100 million in interest
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
Donald Trump Jr.: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Eric Trump: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg: $1 million fine
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney:
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
'I did not work' on financial statements, Eric Trump says
"Sorry to be brash," Eric Trump began a 2012 email to a board member of a North Carolina golf club that the Trump Organization intended to purchase, according to materials entered into evidence.
The board member had come to New York to review financial documents to be assured the Trump organization had the "financial wherewithal to purchase, renovate and operate the club," state attorney Andrew Amer said while questioning Eric Trump.
Amer contended that meant Eric Trump knew "the company had personal financials available to share with third parties," despite the former president's son testifying that "I don't want to speculate" what was being shared.
"I understood we had financials as a company. I was not personally aware of the statement of financial condition," Eric Trump said. "I did not work on the statement of financial condition. I've been very clear about that."
Eric Trump says he didn't know he was source for valuations
Eric Trump denied knowing that he was cited as a source for Donald Trump's valuation of his Seven Springs estate in New York.
"People ask me questions all the time, but I never worked on the statement of financial condition," Eric Trump said when asked about two phone conversations cited by Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney to determine the value of the estate.
While Eric Trump said he had no reason to doubt that the conversations about the estate took place, he denied knowing they were used to value the property in Trump's financial statements.
"I don't believe I ever saw or worked on a statement of financial condition," Eric Trump said.
As heir apparent, Eric Trump could face high stakes
Eric Trump, the heir apparent to the Trump Organization, could face particularly high stakes on the stand.
Gaining power in his family's firm once his father became U.S. president, Eric Trump is responsible for "all aspects of management and operation of the Trump Organization," according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
While his brother Donald Trump Jr. was sparsely mentioned by witnesses during the first five weeks of the trial, Eric Trump was described by witnesses as involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, as well as leading projects for multiple properties that were allegedly inflated in his father's statements of financial condition.
Unlike his brother Donald Trump Jr. -- who certified those statements between 2016 and 2021 -- Eric Trump is alleged to have signed "several guarantor compliance certificates" for his father, that relied on the financial statements.
"I've done a lot to jog my memory and I simply can't, because I don't think I've had any involvement in the statement of financial condition, to the best of my knowledge," Eric Trump said during the deposition he gave in the course of the AG's investigation.
As part of the penalty she is seeking, James has requested that the court bar Eric Trump -- as well as his brother and father -- from serving as an officer in any New York State corporation or business entity.
Eric Trump takes the stand
"The people call Eric Trump," state attorney Andrew Amer said as Donald Trump's second son took the stand.
"Is it fair to view the hierarchy of the Trump Organization as a pyramid with your father at the top?" Amer asked Eric Trump, an executive vice president with the firm.
"Yes," Eric Trump said. "I worked with many people but ultimately reported to my father."
Defense expert tells AG lawyer, 'You ought to be ashamed of yourself'
Donald Trump's accounting expert snapped at a lawyer for the New York attorney general after the lawyer suggested his opinion was bought by the defense team.
As accounting expert Eli Bartov was testifying about Trump's use of disclaimers in his financial statements, state attorney Kevin Wallace interjected, saying, "This is pure speculation from someone they hired to say whatever it is they want."
Still in the witness box, Bartov began yelling at Wallace about the comment as Trump sat watching a few feet away.
"You make up allegations that never existed," Bartov shouted. "I am here to tell the truth. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for talking like that."
Bartov, in his testimony, said that Trump's use of disclaimers functioned "just like the warning from the surgeon general on a box of cigarettes."
The accounting expert said that Trump's disclaimers clearly flagged to his lenders that they should conduct their own due diligence regarding the figures, rather than rely on them at face value. Witnesses from Deutsche Bank -- Trump's primary lender during the 2010s -- previously testified that they conducted due diligence and significantly undercut the valuations Trump provided in his financial statement when deciding to offer him loans.
"I never saw anything that is clearer than that," Bartov said about the language in Trump's disclaimer clause. "Even my nine-year-old granddaughter Emma would understand this language."
In his pretrial summary judgment ruling, Judge Engoron dismissed Trump's argument that disclaimer clauses protect him from allegations of fraud. While multiple defense witnesses have attempted to rebut Engoron's opinion about Trump's use of disclaimer clauses, the judge has signaled he stands by his opinion.
"My summary judgment is the law of the case on the legal effect of this paragraph or these sentences," Engoron said in response to Bartov's testimony, adding that the clauses "would not insulate the client."
Nevertheless, Trump attorney Chris Kise requested that Engoron reconsider his finding.
"I am fairly liberal in reconsidering my opinions," Engoron said before Bartov resumed his testimony.