Former President Donald Trump’s appeal will be filed in the New York State Court of Appeals.
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump have formally appealed a New York civil fraud ruling against him and executives of The Trump Organization, in which they were ordered to pay more than $450 million.
“This appeal is taken from each and every part of the judgment insofar as defendants are aggrieved,” reads the notice of appeal filed Monday, noting that the penalties in total add up to more than $464 million. The appeal will be filed in the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued President Trump and other executives from The Trump Organization for fraud. After a three-month trial, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron found all defendants liable on seven claims.
At the center of the case were the annual statements of financial condition for the Trump Organization. These were not official financial documents but marketing pieces in which executives summarized asset values to arrive at a total net worth figure for President Trump. The court found that these numbers were routinely inflated and that the use of these inflated values in deals defrauded banks and insurers, causing them to take undue risks.
Defense attorneys argue there was no harm to any party and no victim in the case. Representatives from Deutsche Bank and the Zurich Insurance Group had testified that they had done their own analyses when doing business with The Trump Organization.
Penalties
The penalties included a $355 million fine in disgorgement, or recovery of ill-gotten gains, for President Trump, plus another $4 million each for Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and a $1 million fine for The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. The penalties are subject to 9 percent interest and have been backdated depending on the entity at issue.
The organization was also assigned ongoing monitorship by a third party, former judge Barbara Jones, and a risk compliance officer, whose reports to the court may result in additional penalties including the cancellation of business certificates.
