Donald Trump called the case a “fraud on me” and a “witch hunt.”
New York:
A New York judge on Friday ordered former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization to pay nearly $355 million in fines in a civil fraud case.
According to the 90-page judgment, Trump is prohibited from serving as a director of a New York state company for three years. His sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are also seeking fines of $4 million each. They have been banned from serving as directors for two years.
In a trial that ended in January, Donald Trump and his two adult sons have been found responsible for dramatically increasing the value of his estate by hundreds of millions of dollars. However, Trump and his son deny any wrongdoing.
Former US President Donald Trump called the case a “fraud against me” and a “witch hunt.” Judge Arthur Engoron made the decision weeks after closing arguments in a months-long trial in 2023.
The attorney general’s office has asked a judge to order Donald Trump to pay $370 million, $16 million less than the judge ordered.
Former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was ordered to pay $1 million. Weisselberg was also banned from doing business in New York for three years, according to the order.
In addition, Weisselberg and former finance director Jeffrey McConney were banned for life from serving in the “financial control function” of any New York corporation or business entity.
The judge said the independent monitor he established to oversee Trump’s operations will continue to operate for three years, in addition to an “independent compliance director.”
However, the judge overturned the decision to order the defendant’s business certificate to be revoked before trial. Although the judge said the order could be extended.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Haba called the ruling a “clear injustice” and “years of politics aimed at ‘taking down Donald Trump'” in a statement to The Hill. The climax of the persecution.”
According to the “Capitol Hill” report, the trial of the case lasted for more than two months, with 40 witnesses testifying, including the former US president himself, senior managers of the Trump Organization, and Trump’s adult children.
Trump was awarded $354.8 million in damages and ordered to pay another $83.3 million for defaming author E. Jean Carroll, who denied accusations that he sexually assaulted her decades ago. Kim, Trump’s finances could face a major hit.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
