A New York judge Friday ordered Donald Trump to pay more than $350 million in total penalties as part of his ruling in the former president’s civil business fraud trial.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron also barred Trump from running a business in New York for three years.
He also faces a three-year ban on applying for loans from financial institutions registered with the state.
“New York means business in combating business fraud,” Engoron wrote in the 92-page ruling.
The judge delivered the final decision from the trial, which was held without a jury.
“President Trump will of course appeal and remains confident the Appellate Division will ultimately correct the innumerable and catastrophic errors made by a trial court untethered to the law or to reality,” Trump’s attorney Chris Kise said in a statement following the ruling.
The appeals process could take several years to resolve.
The explosive trial stemmed from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit accusing Trump, his two adult sons, his company and top executives of fraudulently inflating Trump’s assets to boost his stated net worth and obtain various financial perks.
“There simply cannot be different rules for different people,” James in a statement celebrating the ruling Friday afternoon.
“When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them,” James said.
James had asked Engoron to ban Trump for life from New York’s real estate industry, and for $370 million in disgorgement, a term for returning ill-gotten gains.
Instead, Engoron fined Trump $354,868,768 in disgorgement. That figure doesn’t include more than $98 million Trump also faces in pre-judgment interest, which will increase every day until it is paid.
The grand total, including disgorgement and interest, for all defendants in the case: just under $464…
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