New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday said she will request to seize the assets of former President Donald Trump if he doesn’t pay the over $350 million fine a New York State Supreme Court justice imposed on him for engaging in decades of fraudulent business practices.
James told ABC News her team is “prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers,” adding that Trump’s 40 Wall Street skyscraper could also be on the hook.
“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.
This is the latest in a serious of fines has been ordered to pay as part of his string of legal challenges. Friday’s ruling, coupled with the damages he’s been ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll for sexually abusing and defaming her, amount to over half a billion dollars, according to The Associated Press.
Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday ruled that Trump overstated his wealth to get cheaper loans from banks and insurers. As part of Engoron’s decision, the former president will also be prohibited from serving as an officer or director of any corporation or legal entity in New York for three years. Still, Trump was spared from having to dissolve his business empire altogether.
Trump decried the ruling as politically motivated, attacking James and Engoron.
“This ‘decision’ is a Complete and Total SHAM,” he said Friday. “There were No Victims, No Damages, No Complaints. Only satisfied Banks and Insurance Companies (which made a ton of money), GREAT Financial Statements that didn’t even include the most valuable Asset ― The TRUMP Brand, IRONCLAD Disclaimers (Buyer Beware, and Do your Own Due Diligence), and amazing Properties all over the World.”
James pushed back on Trump’s suggestion that his crimes were victimless, calling the extent of the fraud the former president engaged in “staggering.” The New York prosecutor also played down concerns that her state would lose business as a result of this court decision.
“If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents,” James told ABC News.
Trump has vowed to appeal the ruling.
