Judge Approves Safeguards for Donald Trump’s $175 Million Business Fraud Appeal Civil Bail
New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Monday approved a new deal between Donald Trump’s lawyers and state Attorney General Letitia James to boost the $175 million bond he posted to appeal the ‘a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud suit for inflating the value of his real estate empire in declarations. to lenders.
James asked Engoron on Friday to vacate the bond, arguing that Knight Specialty Insurance Co. is not authorized to issue bonds in New York. The collateral for the Knight bond is a cash account with Charles Schwab Financial Services and lawyers for the state have expressed concerns that Trump had access to the account.
But at a hearing Monday, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise assured Engoron that Trump could not withdraw money from the account without Knight’s approval, and that Schwab would not allow it.
“We have to put the money somewhere,” Kise said.
Engoron, however, questioned the security of the warranty.
“You keep using the word agreement, what if they break the agreement?” » asked Engoron. “It all looks like a house of cards.”
Lawyers for Trump and James banded together to reach an agreement under which Schwab would maintain the cash account and Knight would gain sole control of the account. Engoron approved the deal.
Trump complains about James questioning his bail
Trump told reporters Monday that he was forced to deal with the California company because the ruling barred him from dealing with New York financial institutions. Trump said he put up $175 million in cash, so James shouldn’t worry about the legitimacy of the bail.
“She doesn’t like the bail bond company because she doesn’t know if the bond is good,” Trump said in the hallway outside his criminal trial. “The bail bond company would be good because I had money invested. I had a lot of money to invest.”
Trump had said it would be impossible for him to post bail for the full $454 million while he appealed the case, to ensure the judgment would be paid if he lost the appeal.
Trump’s appeal continues to challenge Engoron’s $454 million judgment
Engoron ordered Trump in February to repay ill-gotten gains from more favorable interest rates on loans by exaggerating the value of his properties for years. For example, Trump tripled the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, valued the 40 Wall St. building in Manhattan hundreds of millions more than its appraised value, and estimated the value of his Mar-a-complex. Lago in Florida to hundreds of millions. million more than his tax notice.
Trump complained bitterly about Engoron’s decision, particularly the value of Mar-a-Lago.
Without bail, James could decide to seize Trump’s accounts and assets to seek judgment.
The civil case over real estate values is different from Trump’s criminal case in New York, which had opening arguments Monday on accusations that he falsified business records to pay silencing money a porn actress before the 2016 elections.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge approves $175 million enhanced bail in Donald Trump civil fraud
yahoo
