Trump appeals civil fraud judgment against his company in New York case
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his company in February to pay damages for business fraud.
July 22, 2024, 10:41 PM EDT
By Phil Helsel and Lisa Rubin
Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday appealed a civil fraud judgment from February that found the former president and his company liable for business fraud.
The 95-page appeal, filed in the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, accuses state Attorney General Letitia James of an “unauthorized, unprecedented power-grab” and says several loans cited by prosecutors should not have been considered in the case.
It also argues that James “seeks to unwind and penalize complex, highly successful transactions between Appellants and sophisticated Wall Street banks that left all parties deeply satisfied and had no impact on the public interest."
Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron oversaw the civil business fraud trial and ordered Trump and the Trump Organization to pay a $354 million penalty. The judgment, which was at $464 million as of late February, continues to accrue interest.
He also barred Trump from running any New York company for three years and prohibited his sons Donald Jr. and Eric from running any business in New York for two years.
James sued Trump and his business in 2022, alleging they lied on financial statements, including inflating asset values to make more money — in one instance cited at trial, Trump was accused of valuing his triplex home in Trump Tower in New York City at three times its actual size and value.
Trump's lawyers argued in Monday's appeal that those were private transactions.
"No party ever complained or alleged any default. Every loan payment was made on time, and all the loans were repaid in full—some before they came due," Trump's lawyers wrote.
Trump’s lawyers further argued that under a proper application of the statute of limitations, seven of the 10 loan transactions should not have been allowed in the case, because the closing dates for those deals were too old.
“Applying the correct statute of limitations eliminates $350,980,057 of the $464,576,229 judgment,” they wrote, adding that Engoron ignored a previous appellate ruling specifying which claims were “time-barred.”
James’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
In a statement, Trump attorney Christopher Kise said the appeal "seeks reversal of the trial court's legally bereft decisions which ignored the undisputed facts, refused to follow the binding mandate of the Appellate Division, imposed draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional penalties, and willingly allowed a reckless, politically motivated Attorney General to meddle in lawful, private, and mutually profitable transactions."
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has criticized the case and the civil judgment, insisting he did nothing wrong. James has said that he cheated the system by intentionally inflating his net worth by billions of dollars, that he is not above the law and that "everyone must play by the same rules."
"We have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the marketplace," James said after the civil court win. "And for years, Donald Trump engaged in deceptive business practices and tremendous fraud."
James said that the fraud deceived banks and insurance companies and that the judge ruled not only in her office's favor but also "in favor of every hard-working American who plays by the rules."
Trump has had some success with his court cases following a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, but his lawyers did not invoke that ruling in Monday's appeal.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-appeals-civil-fraud-judgment-company-new-york-case-rcna163155