Donald Trump posted $175 million bail on Monday in his New York civil fraud case, halting collections of more than $454 million he is owed and preventing the state from seizing money while he appeals, a court filing showed. his assets to pay off his debts.

A New York appeals court gave the former president 10 days to pay the money after a panel of judges agreed last month to significantly reduce the amount needed to halt executions.

The bond Trump now posts to the court is essentially a placeholder designed to guarantee payment if the verdict is upheld. If that happened, the Republican presidential candidate would have to pay the state the entire amount, which would increase every day.

If Trump wins, he won’t have to pay anything to the state and will get back the money he’s invested now.

“As promised, President Trump has posted bail. He looks forward to asserting his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict,” Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys )express.

Before an appeals court stepped in to lower the required bond, New York Attorney General Letitia James had been preparing to launch an effort to recoup the verdict, possibly by seizing some of Trump’s name-brand properties. James, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the state. Her office declined to comment Monday.

The court ruling came after Trump’s lawyers complained that it would be “practically impossible” to get underwriters to sign off on the $454 million in bonds he was owed plus interest.

The company underwriting the bond is Knight Specialty Insurance, part of Knight Insurance Group. The company’s chairman, billionaire Don Hankey, told The Associated Press that both cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump’s appeal bond.

“That’s what we do at Knight Insurance and we’re happy to do it for anyone who needs a bond,” Hankey said. Hankey was known in business circles for providing high-risk, high-interest loans to car buyers. Credit history is flawed. Hankey told The Associated Press that he has never met or spoken with Trump.

Trump is trying to overturn a judge’s Feb. 16 ruling that he lied about his wealth as he cultivated a real estate empire that propelled him to stardom and the presidency. . The trial focuses on how Trump’s assets were valued in financial statements for loans and deals with bankers and insurance companies.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying the statements actually understated his wealth, were accompanied by disclaimers and were not taken at face value by the institutions that loaned him money or insured him.

The state’s Appellate Division said it will hear arguments in September. The exact date has not yet been determined. If the schedule remains unchanged, it will take place in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

Under New York law, filing an appeal does not generally delay execution of a judgment. However, if a person or entity obtains a bond guaranteeing payment of the amount owed, there is an automatic moratorium (in legal terms, a stay).

Courts sometimes grant exceptions and lower the amount required for a stay, as in Trump’s case.

Trump’s lawyers told the appeals court that more than 30 surety companies were unwilling to offer a mix of cash and real estate as collateral for bonds worth more than $454 million. Underwriters insisted on accepting only cash, stock or other liquid assets, lawyers said.

Most guarantee companies require collateral equal to 120% of the amount owed, they said.

Trump recently claimed to have nearly half a billion dollars in cash, as well as real estate and other assets worth billions of dollars, but said he wanted to provide some cash for his presidential campaign.

Recent legal debts have taken up a significant portion of Trump’s cash reserves.

In addition to the $175 million he must post in the New York case, Trump has also posted more than $97 million worth of bonds and cash to repay what he owes writer E . Money from E. Jean Carroll. test. The jury found that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and defamed her when she went public with her accusations in 2019. He denies all charges.

In February, Trump unsuccessfully sued the New York Times and three reporters over a 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning report on his family’s wealth and tax practices, but a judge ordered him to pay $392,638 in legal fees.

In March, a British court ordered Trump to pay 300,000 pounds ($382,000) in legal costs to a company he unsuccessfully sued over obscenity allegations against him contained in the so-called Steele dossier. . Trump said the claims were false.

Trump may eventually get cash by selling some of his nearly 60% stake in newly public social media company Trump Media & Technology Group, but that will be a long-term invest. Trump’s stake could be worth billions of dollars, but a “lockup” clause prevents insiders like him from selling their shares for six months.