Process begins as planned
Trump can’t stop fraud lawsuits
September 29, 2023, 12:21 a.m
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A court in New York will hear financial fraud by Donald Trump’s family business starting next week. After a judge’s ruling in the preliminary proceedings, the ex-president is almost certain to be found guilty. His attempt to avert the proceedings fails.
Former US President Donald Trump has suffered another setback in the civil proceedings surrounding allegations of financial fraud. A New York appeals court rejected a request from the Republican to put the trial scheduled to begin on Monday on hold. This means that the civil trial surrounding Trump’s previous information about the value of his real estate should start as planned at the beginning of the week.
The 77-year-old right-wing populist, who wants to win back the White House next year, had already suffered a serious legal defeat on Tuesday. The judge responsible in the case, Arthur Engoron, saw it as proven that Trump had intentionally overstated the assets of his real estate empire in the past in order to obtain better conditions, for example for loans. The judge ruled that the real estate mogul was guilty of “fraud”.
This means that a central question in the procedure has already been clarified before the trial begins. Engoron also canceled business licenses for a number of Trump properties, including the iconic Trump Tower in Manhattan. The exact impact of this decision is still unclear, but Trump could lose control of important parts of his real estate portfolio.
No prison, but it could be expensive
New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and some of his children in September 2022 over allegations of financial fraud. The Trump Organization family holding company is said to have overstated assets by several billion dollars between 2011 and 2021 in order to obtain loans and insurance at more favorable conditions. Trump denies the allegations, but Judge Engoron ruled in favor of James.
The civil case will now focus, among other things, on the amount of the penalty. Attorney General James is seeking a fine of $250 million (around 235 million euros) and wants to ban Trump and his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Junior and Eric Trump, from running businesses in New York state. The ex-president is not threatened with a prison sentence in this civil case.
The clear favorite for the US Republican presidential nomination has also been indicted in four criminal cases this year. This includes, among other things, his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and thus stay in power. Politically, Trump is trying to capitalize on the trials by portraying himself as a victim of political persecution. Financially, the legal disputes are a significant burden. In the first half of the year alone, his political financing committee is said to have spent over $40 million on lawyers, according to a report in the Washington Post – money that his supporters had actually donated to the election campaign.