Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, July 29, 2023 Portal/Lindsay DeDario
Photo: Portal
A New York judge ruled on Tuesday (26) that Donald Trump repeatedly committed fraud by increasing the value of his assets and wresting control of some of his exclusive properties in the American city from the former president. Information comes from The New York Times.
According to the newspaper, Judge Arthur F. Engoron’s decision is a major victory for Attorney General Letitia James in her case against Trump, as she effectively ruled that no trial was necessary to establish that he fraudulently obtained favorable loan and insurance terms had.
James argued that Trump inflated the value of his properties by up to $2.2 billion (about R$10.9 billion) and sought a fine of about $250 million in a trial scheduled to begin next Monday dollars (approximately R$ 1.2 billion).
Judge Engoron wrote that the financial statements Trump submitted to banks and insurance companies “clearly contain fraudulent valuations that the defendants used for business purposes.”
The prosecutor said in a brief statement: “We look forward to presenting the remainder of our case in court.”
A lawyer for Trump, Christopher M. Kise, indicated that he would likely appeal the decision, which he called “outrageous” and “totally disconnected from the facts and applicable law.” He said the judge ignored an earlier Court of Appeal ruling and “fundamental legal, accounting and business principles.”
Trump, in turn, claimed that Judge Engoron was a Democrat and called him “crazy.” Although the trial will decide the amount of punishment, the judge’s decision granted one of the largest penalties sought by prosecutors: the cancellation of business licenses that allow some of the former president’s properties to operate for the Trump family business.
According to the New York Times, the decision could end his control of a prominent commercial property at 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan and a family estate in Westchester County.
Trump could also lose control of his other New York properties, including Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan and his golf club in Westchester. The order will not break up Trump’s own company, which consists of hundreds of companies, but the decision could still have farreaching effects on the company’s New York operations.
If the judge’s decision is not overturned by an appeals court, it could close a facility that employs hundreds of people in New York.
“The decision seeks to nationalize one of the United States’ most successful economic empires and take control of private property,” Trump’s lawyer said. The ruling would also dissolve the Trump Organization LLC
In the court document, Judge Engoron wrote sarcastically about Trump’s defense, saying that the former president and the other defendants, including his two adult children and his company, ignored reality when it suited their business needs.
“In the defendant’s world,” he wrote, “rentregulated housing is worth as much as unregulated housing; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; Restrictions can vanish into thin air. “This is a fantasy world, not the real world,” he added.
The judge also imposed sanctions on Trump’s lawyers for making arguments that he had previously rejected. He ordered everyone to pay US$7,500 (about R$37,000).
The former president could still drag out the trial or even overturn the case as he has decided to sue Judge Arthur Engoron, and the decision is expected this week. However, if he is defeated, he will have to stand trial.
Letitia James’ investigation into Trump’s business dealings began in 2019, when Trumo was still president. The case was presented in September last year and highlights strategies that would have been used to increase the value of apartments, hotels, golf clubs and other assets.
Source: Redação Terra