An appeals court threw out the $355 million fraud penalty against President Donald Trump on Thursday.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York found the penalty excessive in violation of the Constitution.
In February 2024, A New York judge ordered Trump and his companies to pay more than $300 million in penalties after finding that he engaged in fraud by padding financial statements that went to lenders and insurers.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum is now over $515 million.
“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of the opinions shaping the court’s ruling.