On Monday, former President Donald Trump officially initiated the appeal process for the substantial $454 million judgment in his New York civil fraud case, a sum accruing over $100,000 in interest daily.
To secure an automatic stay during the appeal, Trump is required to provide the entire amount as a bond, termed an “undertaking” in the New York civil court system.
As of now, Trump has not fulfilled the bond requirement, as confirmed by a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who refrained from commenting on the ongoing appeal.
Trump’s attorney, Clifford Robert, outlined the grounds for appeal in notices submitted on Monday.
They have petitioned the Appellate Division, First Department, a part of New York’s second-highest court, to assess whether Judge Arthur Engoron “committed errors of law and/or fact, abused [his] discretion, and/or acted in excess of [his] jurisdiction” during the case.
Apart from the substantial financial penalty, Engoron’s decision on February 16th imposed additional sanctions. The defendants are prohibited from seeking loans from any financial institution registered with New York state for three years.
Trump and two executives are barred from serving on the board of directors of any company in the state for the same duration, with a two-year restriction imposed on his sons Donald Jr. and Eric.
The ruling also mandates the appointment of an independent director of compliance at the Trump Organization and sustained oversight by an independent monitor.
Trump and the defendants are appealing all sanctions imposed in Engoron’s ruling.
“We trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious fine and take the necessary steps to restore the public faith in New York’s legal system,” Trump attorney Alina Habba stated in a statement.
One of the heaviest corporate sanctions in New York history was the 92-page Engoron judgment. According to the court, there have been ten years of frauds committed by Trump and others that “leap off the page and shock the conscience.”
The amount of “ill-gotten gains” they amassed through a conspiracy to utilize Trump’s wealth and false property appraisals to obtain advantageous loan and insurance terms was $354 million, which he ordered to be disgorged.
When years of interest are taken into account, that amount increases by over $100 million. According to experts, it is improbable that Trump will be able to pay for any portion of the verdict with money from his presidential campaign.
“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,” Engoron stated. The only charge against them is manipulating asset values in order to increase profits. This is repeatedly demonstrated by the documentation.”
According to Engoron’s conclusion, accountants used the “blatantly false financial data” that Trump and the other defendants provided them, to create financial statements that were then provided to lenders and insurers.
“When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants’ fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences,” Engoron concluded.
