FILE - Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom before the start of closing arguments in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Jan. 11, 2024, in New York. Records show over the past two years, Axos Bank and its largest individual shareholder Don Hankey, have extended more than $500 million in financing that has benefited Trump. Ethics experts say they could also grant Hankey and Axos Bank outsize sway in a future Trump administration.
The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Axos during Barack Obama’s presidency after a whistleblower filed a lawsuit accusing the bank of violating anti-money laundering rules, court records show. The investigation was closed in 2017 once Trump became president, while the whistleblower lawsuit was settled out of court.
Hankey did not respond to requests for comment made directly to him, as well as to an attorney for his company. Trump’s campaign also did not respond to an inquiry. Officials for Axos, a midsized California-based bank that was formerly known as Bank of the Internet, did not address the SEC investigation in a brief statement.
Trump left the White House as a pariah in the business world following his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the Jan. 6on the Capitol. He also faced looming deadlines to pay off massive loans taken out on Trump Tower as well as his Doral golf course resort in Miami. This week, the latest tranche of Axos-connected financing came through when Hankey stepped forward through one of his companies, Knight Specialty Insurance, to post a $175 million bond that Trump was required to post as he appeals a $454 million judgment in his New York civil fraud trial.
On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office objected to the bond in a court filing, requesting that Knight Insurance file additional paperwork showing that the company was financially sound and had adequate collateral to cover the amount.