A Manhattan judge on Tuesday found Donald Trump committed fraud for years by exaggerating the value of his wealth – clearing the way for a civil trial where the former president could be ordered to pay $250 million and banned from doing business in the Empire State.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron found Trump, 77, his family and his business, the Trump Organization, liable for fraud – the key claim in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ sprawling lawsuit against the defendants.
In a 35-page ruling, Engoron sided with James, who argued that Trump made several indisputably false statements in business documents to secure favorable terms with banks – including by claiming that his soaring triplex penthouse at Trump Tower was 30,000 square feet when it was in fact closer to 11,000 feet.
“A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud,” Engoron wrote.
The judge also issued sanctions against several of Trump’s lawyers, ordering five of the former president’s attorneys to pay $7,500 each for making “frivolous” arguments in the case.
Trump’s effort to get the court to dismiss James’ fraud and other claims – including by arguing that the statute of limitations on them had run out – was also denied in Tuesday’s ruling.
A non-jury trial is set to start Oct. 2 for Engoron to hear arguments on the other claims in the suit, before deciding on those allegations and on any punishments to impose on Trump.
James’ office has previously claimed that the former president, the Trump Organization, and Eric and Donald Trump Jr. overstated the value of his assets by as much as $3.6 billion a year.
The lawsuit aims to force Trump to pay back to the state millions in penalties, halt Trump’s ability to run businesses in New York and bar him and his team from buying commercial property for several years.
Representatives for Trump and James’ office did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.