Donald Trump, the former US President, is facing a $250 million penalty and a ban on doing business in New York, pending the verdict in his civil fraud trial, which is expected to be delivered by the end of January.
The trial began on October 2, 2023, and has been on hiatus since December 13, 2023, and is set to resume with closing arguments on January 11, 2024. The New York Attorney General, Letitia James, is seeking at least $250 million in repayment of alleged ill-gotten gains from Trump, 77, and his co-defendants, including his two eldest sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. Trump is accused of exaggerating the value of his assets by billions on yearly financial statements to get better loan and insurance terms.
The Manhattan Supreme Court judge, Arthur Engoron, has already found Trump liable for fraud, but other claims in James’ lawsuit and a potential final penalty still need to be ruled on.
According to a former prosecutor and white-collar defence attorney, Evan Gotlob, the judge could order Trump to pay less or more than the AG seeks. Still, it is more likely that he will either rule that the ex-president owes $250 million or nothing. Gotlob said there has been no precise number of either ill-gotten gain or loss, so he does not know how the judge would devise a different number.
The court has heard from some 40 witnesses since the trial started. Still, not much of the testimony focused on how much each lender or insurer lost due to Trump’s alleged fraud, making it unlikely that Engoron would come up with a different number than the sum James sought.
Gotlob believes it is unlikely that the judge would set the penalty lower than $250 million, as judges tend to try to make financial penalties payable. Gotlob thinks the Trump organization is worth between $1 billion and $3 billion and has money to pay. Engoron found that Trump was liable on one of the AG’s central fraud claims, and the judge revoked the Trump Organization’s business licenses. The company can continue to do business as an appeals court put the latter part of the decision on hold, at least until Engoron issues his verdict.
Even after the verdict is issued, Gotlob predicted that it would be years until the case concludes as Trump is likely to appeal any adverse ruling to the Empire State’s top court. Gotlob suggested that the issue would be resolved soon after the 2024 presidential election since “courts don’t like to get involved in politics.” A final ruling could come down as late as 2025 or 2026.
In conclusion, Donald Trump faces a $250 million penalty and a ban on doing business in New York when the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial delivers a verdict later in January.
The judge could order Trump to pay less or more than the AG seeks, but it is more likely that he will either rule that the ex-president owes a total of $250 million or nothing.
It is also unlikely that the judge would set the penalty lower than $250 million. Even after the verdict is issued, it would be years until the case concludes, as Trump will likely appeal any adverse ruling to the Empire State’s top court.
