Trump appeals $355 million civil fraud ruling

MANHATTAN (CN) — Donald Trump on Monday appealed a civil fraud judgment that’s set to cost him roughly half a billion dollars. 

The appeal comes in response to a Feb. 16 ruling from New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who ruled that the former president must pay nearly $355 million in penalties for fraudulently inflating his net worth on yearly financial documents, shorting banks and insurers out of millions.

Trump is claiming that the state court “abused its discretion, and/or acted in excess of its jurisdiction,” according to a notice of appeal filed by defense lawyer Cliff Robert on Monday.

According to the New York Attorney General’s Office, who brought the case against Trump and his co-defendants in 2022, Trump is actually on the hook for nearly $455 million thanks to the nearly $100 million in pre-trial interest he racked up prior to the ruling.

Engoron’s decision left Trump a 30-day window to appeal, which he vowed to do quickly. As it stands, Trump is racking up more than $100,000 daily in post-trial interest, which will continue to increase for every day the lump sum goes unpaid. 

Trump has already sought a temporary stay on the financial penalties in Engoron’s ruling, which the judge smacked down in an email to his lawyers last week.

“You have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay,” Engoron wrote. “I am confident that the Appellate Division will protect your appellate rights.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James claims that Trump must deposit “sufficient funds with the court” in that same 30-day window to stay the penalties. That could amount to as much as, if not more than, the roughly $454 million he owes.

James said last week that she’d be willing to start seizing some of Trump’s New York properties if he’s unable to foot the bill.

"If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," James said in an interview with ABC News.

Trump and his legal team have repeatedly questioned Enrogon’s impartiality throughout the trial and after his ruling. His lawyer Alina Habba called the decision a “manifest injustice.”

“Given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict and end this relentless persecution against my clients,” Habba said in a statement following the ruling.

Trump’s 10-week trial ran from October to December 2023. The parties returned to the New York Supreme Courthouse in mid-January for closing arguments, in which Trump called the trial a “political witch hunt” in open court.

But Engoron was unconvinced, finding in his ruling that “the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.”

In addition to the financial penalties, Engoron barred Trump for three years from running a business in New York or applying for loans from state-registered banks. Trump’s adult sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who were co-defendants in their father's case, were issued two-year business bans. They each owe $4 million for their role in the fraud.

Two other co-defendants with ties to Trump’s namesake corporation, the Trump Organization, also face penalties in the judgment. Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and current controller Jeff McConney are precluded from "serving as an officer or director" in New York businesses for three years. They’re both permanently banned from serving in the financial control capacity at any state organization.

“The evidence is overwhelming that Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney cannot be entrusted with controlling the finances of any business,” Engoron wrote.

Weisselberg is also on the hook for $1 million, but the trial could be even more costly for him. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that he was in talks with Manhattan prosecutors for a perjury plea deal stemming from his October testimony.

Monday’s appeal adds to an already packed legal calendar for Trump. The former president will be back in New York court next month for a criminal trial stemming from supposed hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is still mulling his ballot eligibility following numerous lawsuits against Trump for the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In January, a New York jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll for defaming her after she accused him of sexual assault.

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