© Reuters. Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the 2024 National Association of Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention, as part of the NRB Presidential Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, US. , February
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York judge has formally ordered Donald Trump to pay more than $454 million after being found responsible for manipulating his net worth in a civil fraud case brought by the New York state attorney general. .
The payment includes the $354.9 million fine that Judge Arthur Engoron of Manhattan state court ordered on February 16, plus interest, after a bench trial that lasted more than three months.
Engoron also ordered Trump's adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, each to pay nearly $4.7 million, and the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, to pay $1.1 million. , everything including interest.
Payments were determined Thursday and interest will continue to accrue. The sentence was made public on Friday.
Attorney General Letitia James accused the defendants of illegally exaggerating the value of Trump's properties to inflate his net worth and obtain better loan and insurance terms.
Engoron also banned Trump for three years from holding a senior position in any New York company or borrowing from banks registered in the state. His adult children received two-year bans from holding leadership positions.
The judge said the defendants' “complete lack of repentance and remorse borders on the pathological.”
Engoron's decision threatens the business empire Trump built over much of his adult life.
The former Republican president also faces four unrelated criminal proceedings, in which he has pleaded not guilty, as he seeks to regain the White House from Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump accused James and Engoron, both Democrats, of being corrupt and called the case part of a witch hunt by political opponents.
He plans to appeal his sanction to the Appellate Division, a mid-level appeals court, but would have to pay the money owed or obtain bail.
Engoron denied a request by Clifford Robert, attorney for the defendants, to delay execution of the sentences for 30 days to allow for “an orderly post-sentence process, particularly given the magnitude of the sentence.”
In a Thursday morning email to Robert, Engoron wrote: “You have not explained, much less justified, any basis for a suspension. I trust the Appellate Division will protect your appeal rights.”
