won’t have to pay out the money immediately as an appeals process plays out, but the verdict still is a stunning setback for the former president.
He said their “complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological” and “the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.” The total $364 million verdict – which James’ office said grows to $450 million, adding interest – keeps the Trump Organization in business. The judge backed away from an earlier ruling that would have dissolved the former president’s companies. But if upheld, the verdict will force a shakeup at the top of the company.
Engoron issued his decision after a 2 1/2-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system.over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.
Even before the trial began, Engoron ruled that James had proven Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent. The judge ordered some of Trump’s companies removed from his control and dissolved. An appeals court put that decision on hold. The suit is one of many legal headaches for Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He has been indicted four times in the last year – accused in Georgia and Washington, D.C., of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, in Florida of hoarding classified documents, and in Manhattan of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels on his behalf.