The judge prohibits the tycoon from holding positions in any New York company for three years
Judge Arthur Engoron has ordered former US President Donald Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, to pay almost $355 million (€330 million) in the New York state tax fraud trial, also prohibiting the magnate from holding positions. in any company based in the state for a period of three years.
Although the judge has disqualified the former president from holding positions in companies, he has not dissolved the Trump Organization, which inflated his personal net worth by $3.6 billion (about €3.3 billion) between 2011 and 2021, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The judge has also decided that Trump will not be able to apply for loans for three years in the state, while he has appointed an independent position to monitor the company’s financial results for three years, as reported by CNN.
Two of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will have to pay four million dollars (3.7 million euros) for being responsible for a series of civil fraud charges, including the issuance of irregular financial statements or falsifying business records. Both will not be able to hold positions as directors of companies in the state for two years.
Likewise, the former financial director of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, will have to pay one million dollars and will not be able to be a director of a company based in New York for three years. Additionally, along with another former employee, Jeffrey McConney, he will be permanently banned from holding financial positions.
After the verdict, the magnate’s lawyer, Alina Habba, stressed in a statement that they will appeal the decision due to a “manifest injustice” and has defended that it is a “witch hunt” that began “long before” the prosecutor New York General Letitia James “set foot” in his office.
James asked both Trump and his company to pay a total of 370 million dollars (about 337 million euros) for “illegal enrichment” and for inflating the value of his assets in financial documents for more than a decade.
The origin of the case dates back to 2019, when the company’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen – who was also responsible for making irregular payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels – raised questions about its financial status before Congress.
In fact, the judge notes in the 92-page ruling that Cohen’s testimony is “credible,” not only because he was “relaxed” when he testified, but also because of the way his words “were corroborated by other evidence.” of the trial.”
Engoron also talks about the accused and assures that they have a “total of regret and remorse”, which borders on the pathological. “They are only accused of inflating the value of assets to make more money. The documents prove it again and again,” Engoron points out in the letter about the accused, reported by NBC News.
In this sense, he highlights that “Trump is not Bernard Madoff”, alluding to a famous fraudster, nor has he robbed a bank “at gunpoint” or has “committed a murder.” “Despite this, the accused are incapable of admitting errors in their conduct,” he adds.
Regarding the testimony of another of Trump’s daughters, Ivanka Trump, Engoron has highlighted that she was an “eloquent” witness, although he has called her position “inconsistent” due to her lapses in memory. “What Trump can’t remember is captured in emails and documents,” she adds.
