Former President Donald Trump has just received a ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron in his New York civil case. On Tuesday, September 26, the judge ruled that Trump committed fraud over multiple years while building his real estate dynasty.
The civil case initiated by New York’s Attorney General Letitia James alleges that Trump overstated his net worth on official documents related to deals and financing. This allowed him to secure favorable loan conditions and insurance premiums due to artificially inflated assets.
The filing also asserts that Trump was inflating his net worth by up to $3.6 billion annually or between 17-39%, depending on the year. It is reported that this amount could reach up to $250 million in fines if found guilty and would prohibit further business dealings in New York state where he is originally from.
Judge Engoron issued several rulings which included cancelling out several of Trump’s business permits as well appointing an overseer who would monitor operations of Trump Organization more closely moving forward.
Furthermore, he noted that Trump’s claimed figures contradicted reality stating “In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies.”
He continued, “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”
Finally, he scheduled a bench trial for October 2nd which will determine potential penalties for fraud allegations against Donald Trump if found guilty after deliberation and testimony given during this trial period.
Despite these allegations, Donald trump remains adamant about his innocence claiming banks were compensated fully during his tenure and citing disclaimers in financial statements as proof of no liability towards false statements made in them.
However, Judge Engoron countered this position saying disclaimers indicate full responsibility for content presented within those documents regardless of any inaccuracies contained therein.
