SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his lawyers in a Manhattan courtroom during his arraignment on April 4, 2023, in New York City.
(Photo: Seth Wenig/pool/via Getty Images)
Trump Fined $355 Million in New York Civil Fraud Case
A New York judge wrote the ex-president and his organization showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse," bordering on "pathological."
Feb 16, 2024
Noting that Donald Trump and his real estate company "are incapable of admitting the error of their ways," New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday ordered Trump and his associates to pay $364 million in fines and barred the former U.S. president from "serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years."
Trump and his company are responsible for $355 million; his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, owe $4 million each; and longtime executive Allen Weisselberg was fined $1 million.
The judgment comes weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury also found last year that Trump was liable for sexually abusing her in 1996.
The former president and the Trump Organization, whose top executives include his sons, were accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, of "repeated and persistent fraud," including falsifying financial statements by as much as $2.2 billion.
In his ruling, Engoron took issue with Trump's "refusal to admit error," and quoted 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope: "To err is human, to forgive is divine."
"Defendants are apparently of a different mind," wrote the judge. "Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological."
Susanne Craig, an investigative journalist at The New York Times who has covered Trump's finances and legal cases, told MSNBC the ruling is a "massive, seismic decision today for" the president and his company.
"With Donald Trump, I always think the language he speaks is money and this is a lot of money," said Craig. "We don't really know how much cash he has on hand. At one point he said he had $400 million and there's documents that have been filed with the court that said he could have maybe had in that range at some point, we don't know."
"To even say it's a body blow may be an understatement," said Craig.
James called the ruling "a massive victory."
Trump will have to pay "over $450 million in disgorgement and interest," the attorney general noted.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Noting that Donald Trump and his real estate company "are incapable of admitting the error of their ways," New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday ordered Trump and his associates to pay $364 million in fines and barred the former U.S. president from "serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years."
Trump and his company are responsible for $355 million; his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, owe $4 million each; and longtime executive Allen Weisselberg was fined $1 million.
The judgment comes weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury also found last year that Trump was liable for sexually abusing her in 1996.
The former president and the Trump Organization, whose top executives include his sons, were accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, of "repeated and persistent fraud," including falsifying financial statements by as much as $2.2 billion.
In his ruling, Engoron took issue with Trump's "refusal to admit error," and quoted 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope: "To err is human, to forgive is divine."
"Defendants are apparently of a different mind," wrote the judge. "Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological."
Susanne Craig, an investigative journalist at The New York Times who has covered Trump's finances and legal cases, told MSNBC the ruling is a "massive, seismic decision today for" the president and his company.
"With Donald Trump, I always think the language he speaks is money and this is a lot of money," said Craig. "We don't really know how much cash he has on hand. At one point he said he had $400 million and there's documents that have been filed with the court that said he could have maybe had in that range at some point, we don't know."
"To even say it's a body blow may be an understatement," said Craig.
James called the ruling "a massive victory."
Trump will have to pay "over $450 million in disgorgement and interest," the attorney general noted.
From Your Site Articles
- NY Judge Rules Trump Defrauded Banks, Insurers by Overvaluing His Worth and Assets ›
- Trump Family's Massive Tax Con Job Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight for Years. And It Could Cost Them Millions ›
- Fine Print of RNC-Trump "Election Fraud" Fundraising Shows Half the Money Can Go to Pay Off Existing Campaign Debt ›
- Major Asset Seizure Likely as Trump Can't Afford Bond for NY Fraud Case ›
- $3 Billion From Truth Social Merger Unlikely to Fix Trump's Money Trouble ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Noting that Donald Trump and his real estate company "are incapable of admitting the error of their ways," New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday ordered Trump and his associates to pay $364 million in fines and barred the former U.S. president from "serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years."
Trump and his company are responsible for $355 million; his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, owe $4 million each; and longtime executive Allen Weisselberg was fined $1 million.
The judgment comes weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury also found last year that Trump was liable for sexually abusing her in 1996.
The former president and the Trump Organization, whose top executives include his sons, were accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, of "repeated and persistent fraud," including falsifying financial statements by as much as $2.2 billion.
In his ruling, Engoron took issue with Trump's "refusal to admit error," and quoted 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope: "To err is human, to forgive is divine."
"Defendants are apparently of a different mind," wrote the judge. "Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological."
Susanne Craig, an investigative journalist at The New York Times who has covered Trump's finances and legal cases, told MSNBC the ruling is a "massive, seismic decision today for" the president and his company.
"With Donald Trump, I always think the language he speaks is money and this is a lot of money," said Craig. "We don't really know how much cash he has on hand. At one point he said he had $400 million and there's documents that have been filed with the court that said he could have maybe had in that range at some point, we don't know."
"To even say it's a body blow may be an understatement," said Craig.
James called the ruling "a massive victory."
Trump will have to pay "over $450 million in disgorgement and interest," the attorney general noted.
From Your Site Articles
- NY Judge Rules Trump Defrauded Banks, Insurers by Overvaluing His Worth and Assets ›
- Trump Family's Massive Tax Con Job Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight for Years. And It Could Cost Them Millions ›
- Fine Print of RNC-Trump "Election Fraud" Fundraising Shows Half the Money Can Go to Pay Off Existing Campaign Debt ›
- Major Asset Seizure Likely as Trump Can't Afford Bond for NY Fraud Case ›
- $3 Billion From Truth Social Merger Unlikely to Fix Trump's Money Trouble ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.