Financial fraud trial
US judge declares Trump liable
September 26, 2023, 11:56 p.m
Starting next week, Donald Trump will be on trial in New York. The civil lawsuit is about financial fraud that he and his sons are said to have committed. In a preliminary procedure, the judge declares the ex-president liable, which means the actual trial can go ahead more quickly.
A judge has found former US President Donald Trump liable for financial fraud. New York judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump had intentionally overstated his assets in the past in order to obtain better conditions for loans, for example. Trump is not convicted: This is a fundamental decision before a civil trial against the ex-president and presidential candidate. The trial is scheduled to begin next week, and Engoron granted the Attorney General’s request for a summary trial.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and his three eldest children in September 2022 over allegations of financial fraud. The Trump Organization family holding company is said to have overstated assets for years in order to “secure and maintain loans and insurance on more favorable terms,” according to a court document from the attorney general’s office.
Ivanka will no longer be charged
The action left the defendants with “hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits,” the document continued. Attorney General James is seeking penalties of $250 million (around €235 million). The lawsuit was originally directed against Trump’s three eldest children, Ivanka, Donald Junior and Eric Trump. However, Ivanka has since been removed from the lawsuit.
The civil trial against Trump and his two eldest sons in New York will begin next Monday. With his ruling on Tuesday, Judge Engoron already anticipated an important decision about how this is possible in such proceedings. This makes the work of the public prosecutor easier. One question in the process will be, among other things, how high the punishment will be against Trump. The ex-president is not threatened with a prison sentence in this civil case.