New York judge will not halt collection of $454M Trump civil fraud penalty News
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New York judge will not halt collection of $454M Trump civil fraud penalty

 Former US President Donald Trump’s lawyers asked a New York appellate court on Wednesday to stop the collection of the former president’s $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals. Trump’s lawyers said in a court filing that he is prepared to post a $100 million appeal bond, which is only a fraction of what he owes. 

The judge, Associate Justice Anil Singh, answered that Trump must post the total amount of the bond in order to stop the enforcement of the $454 million judgment. In the original judgment, the court found Trump liable for falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and conspiracy to falsify business records.

In the instant decision, the judge did grant some of Trump’s requests, including pausing a three-year ban on him seeking loans from New York banks, which will significantly expand Trump’s ability to secure the necessary bond. The former president and his co-defendants now owe more than $465 million to the state with the accruing interest, and they have until March 25 to secure a stay or risk having some of their assets seized. 

In the court documents, Trump’s lawyers claim that the “ judgment orders unprecedented and punitive disgorgement of nearly $460 million and overbroad permanent injunctive relief against appellants in the absence of legal authority or factual support.”

The New York Attorney General’s office responded in a letter to the court. The office said:

[C]ontrary to defendants’ argument, there is a substantial risk that defendants will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment (or make enforcement more difficult) following appeal. Even with the independent monitor that they now tout, the defendants have already, during this action, surreptitiously transferred $40 million from their accounts without disclosing the transfer to the monitor, in violation of  [New York lower court’s] orders.

If the former president decides to secure the bond loan, his lawyers have indicated that he would need to raise more than $550 million. Bond underwriters charge about 120 percent of the judgment and require an individual provide cash, other easily sellable assets, stocks or collateral, such as some of Trump’s New York properties. 

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