New York Attorney General Letitia James is prepared to seize former President Donald Trump’s assets—including the iconic Trump Tower—if he is unable to pay the $354 million fine from his civil fraud case.
“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James told ABC News on Tuesday, mentioning the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street by name.
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James claimed to be “very confident” in the case’s ability to hold up against an appeal, which the Trump defense team has already vowed to file as soon as paperwork from the first trial has been submitted. However, in order to even begin the appeals process, Trump must first put up a $400 million bond to cover the fine and an additional nine percent post-judgment interest.
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Addressing the massive bond payment required for the appeal, Trump attorney Alina Habba told Fox News that the entire point of this case is to “put Trump out of business” by drowning him in fines.
As Valuetainment previously reported, Donald Trump was fined $354.8 million by Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron, who found the former president guilty of overstating his net worth to obtain more favorable loan terms from New York banks. In addition to the fine, Trump has been banned from conducting business or holding executive positions in New York State for three years.
As Trump’s legal team noted during the trial, these exaggerations technically had no victims, as all the loans in question were repaid and the banks themselves did not file charges. However, according to Attorney General James, the extent of the fraud still warrants a significant punishment.
Related: Kevin O’Leary Vows to “Never Invest in New York” After Trump Fraud Ruling
“Financial frauds are not victimless crimes,” James said (without actually naming the victims in Trump’s case.) “He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering.”
“If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents,” she continued.
James also gloated about the efforts of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is charging Trump criminally for his challenge to the 2020 election, and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who won $83 million from Trump in a defamation case last month.
“Someone once told me if you want something done, give it to a woman,” James quipped.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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