Consequences Donald Trump huge fine fraud

Donald Trump's firm was fined $355m for fraudulent accounting. He plans to use the ruling to attack Joe Biden.

Donald Trump and his property firm have been hit with a massive fine of $355m, plus an estimated $86m in interest, for inflating asset values to secure better loan terms over several years. The ruling, which came after an 11-week trial, aims to transform how the Trump Organisation operates. It bars Trump from working as a corporate director in New York for three years, imposes a two-year ban on his two eldest sons, and expands the remit of an independent monitor for at least three more years. The ruling also prohibits the company from seeking loans from any lender registered in New York for three years. Appellate courts will likely pause the order while they consider Trump's appeal, which could take two years or more.

The ruling follows an 11-week trial that began in October. The Trump Organisation was found to have overvalued assets by between $812m and $2.2bn from 2014 to 2021. The judge described Trump's lack of remorse as "bordering on pathological" and criticized his repeated refusal to admit wrongdoing. The ruling also contained a reprieve from a previous decision to cancel corporate charters that allow the firm to operate in New York, which would have meant the liquidation of the business.

The lawsuit revealed that Trump announced his desired net worth to his lieutenants each year, who would then reverse-engineer asset values to achieve it. His defence throughout the trial, that outside accountants had certified the financial statements, and that no bank suffered losses on account of the misreported valuations, got no traction with the judge. New York's attorney-general, Letitia James, said Trump's lenders could have made $168m more had they not been tricked into charging him preferential interest rates.

The ruling also described Trump's own behaviour during the trial, in which he repeatedly insulted Judge Engoron's clerk on social media and was fined $15,000 for violating a gag order. He could not stop himself from attacking Judge Engoron either, prompting the judge to describe how he paid close attention to every witness, their expressions, demeanor, and body language, and how Trump was "severely compromised" in credibility.

Despite the ruling, Trump is using the affair as an opportunity to attack "corrupt" Democrats for "election interfering", accusing President Joe Biden of "a witch hunt against his political opponent the likes of which our country has never seen before". The ruling aims to transform how the Trump Organisation operates, with a focus on accountability and compliance. The ruling also aims to deter future misconduct, with an independent monitor and compliance officer coming aboard to oversee the firm. While the ruling may have financial implications for Trump, it remains to be seen how it will impact him politically.