New York AG Challenges Trump's $175M Bond in Fraud Case: Insurer's Surplus Exceeded, Financial Capacity Questioned

New York, New York, USA United States of America
Attorney General's office raised concerns about KSIC's financial capacity and alleged violation of federal laws
KSIC has a total policyholder surplus of $138M and exceeded 10% limit by $161.2M
KSIC, which underwrote the bond, may not have sufficient resources to pay if appeal fails
New York AG challenges Trump's $175M bond in fraud case
Trump posted $175M bond to appeal civil fraud case
New York AG Challenges Trump's $175M Bond in Fraud Case: Insurer's Surplus Exceeded, Financial Capacity Questioned

Former President Donald Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James are locked in a legal battle over a $175 million bond that Trump posted to appeal the civil fraud case against him. The New York Attorney General's office has asked the court to void the bond, arguing that Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC), which underwrote the bond, may not have sufficient resources to pay if Trump's appeal fails.

According to court filings from both sides, KSIC has a total policyholder surplus of $138 million. Under New York state law, companies like KSIC cannot expose themselves to liabilities or potential losses greater than 10 percent of their surplus. The face amount of the bond exceeds this limitation by $161.2 million.

The attorney general's office also raised concerns about the financial capacity of KSIC, stating that it uses affiliates in the Cayman Islands to reduce liabilities shown on its books and allegedly violates federal laws. They argue that these practices cast doubt on KSIC's ability to meet its obligations under the bond.

Trump and his co-defendants were ordered by Judge Arthur Engoron in February 2024 to pay a combined $464 million for their involvement in a decade-long scheme to inflate Trump's net worth for tax and insurance benefits. The judge ruled that the defendants conspired to falsify business records, misrepresent asset values, and commit financial fraud.

Trump posted the bond on April 1, 2024, after a New York Appellate Court reduced the amount of money he would need to post from $464 million to $175 million. The bond ensures that James' office cannot collect the multimillion-dollar judgment against Trump and his co-defendants while they appeal and pauses other penalties.

The judge is expected to hold a hearing on Monday, April 23, 2024, to discuss the issues raised by the attorney general's office. The hearing will run in parallel with opening statements in Trump's New York criminal trial.


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Confidence

80%

Doubts
  • Is KSIC's financial capacity truly a concern?
  • Is the attorney general correct about KSIC's alleged violation of federal laws?

Sources

82%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

NY AG Letitia James asks judge to void Trump's $175M bond in civil fraud case

Fox News Media Stepheny Price Saturday, 20 April 2024 04:15
  • Unique Points
    • New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to void the $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump in his civil fraud case.
    • KSIC has a total policyholder surplus of $138 million, which is below the required amount as per New York state law for businesses like KSIC.
    • James argues that KSIC’s financial summary should not be relied upon as evidence of sufficient capacity to write a $175 million bond due to its practice of transferring retained insurance risk to affiliates in the Cayman Islands.
  • Accuracy
    • , New York Attorney General Letitia James asked Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday to reject former President Donald Trump’s $175 million bond for his civil judgment and require him to post a new one within seven days.
    • The insurance company, Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC), is accused of not being authorized to write business in New York and having insufficient funds to back the bond.
    • KSIC has a total policyholder surplus of just $138 million.
  • Deception (30%)
    The article does not explicitly deceive the reader, but it does present some information in a misleading manner. The author states that KSIC is not authorized to write business in New York and has never written a surety bond in New York or any other jurisdiction. However, they do not disclose that this is based on New York state law which prohibits smaller businesses like KSIC from exposing themselves to liabilities greater than 10% of their surplus. This makes the statement seem more damning than it actually is. Additionally, the author uses sensationalist language when describing James' argument, stating that she argues KSIC was 'not authorized' to write business in New York and had 'never before written a surety bond.' These statements imply that there is clear evidence against KSIC, but no such evidence is presented. Lastly, the author includes inflammatory language from James ('justice has been served') without providing any context or analysis.
    • The bond was posted by California-based Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC), but James argued that the insurer was "not authorized" to write business in New York...
    • According to New York state law, smaller businesses like KSIC are not permitted to expose themselves to liabilities...
    • The face amount of the bond exceeds this limitation by $161.2 million." James also wrote that "KSIC is not qualified to act as the surety under this standard because its management has been found by federal authorities to have operated affiliated companies within KSICs holding company structure in violation of federal law on multiple occasions within the past several years."
  • Fallacies (90%)
    The author makes an appeal to authority by stating that New York state law prohibits smaller businesses like Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC) from exposing themselves to liabilities greater than 10 percent of their surplus. However, the author does not provide any evidence or citation to support this claim.
    • The limitation of loss on any one risk that KSIC is permitted to write is $13.8 million.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

94%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

New York AG asks court to reject Trump's $175M bond for civil judgment

ABC NEWS SITE NAMES Name: ABC News Site Names URL: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-officially-blames-iran_106834435 ABC News Saturday, 20 April 2024 04:15
  • Unique Points
    • New York Attorney General Letitia James asked Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday to reject former President Donald Trump’s $175 million bond for his civil judgment and require him to post a new one within seven days.
    • Letitia James contended that Knight Specialty Insurance Company, the company behind Trump’s bond, may not have enough resources to pay if his appeal failed.
    • KSIC has a total policyholder surplus of just $138 million.
  • Accuracy
    • KSIC, the insurer behind Trump’s bond, is not authorized to write business in New York and has never before written a surety bond in New York or any other jurisdiction within the past two years.
    • Trump and his co-defendants were ordered to pay $464 million in February for engaging in a decade-long scheme to inflate their net worth.
    • The New York Appellate Court reduced the amount of money Trump needed to post for the bond from $464 million to $175 million.
  • Deception (80%)
    The article reports on the New York Attorney General's request to reject Trump's $175M bond for a civil judgment due to concerns about the bond company's ability to pay. The author provides evidence that the company has not demonstrated sufficient collateral beyond the bond amount and raises concerns about potential violations of federal laws. This is an example of selective reporting, as the article focuses on information that supports the attorney general's position and does not provide context or counterarguments.
    • In the motion, James also raised concerns that KSIC uses affiliates in the Cayman Islands to reduce liabilities shown on their books and allegedly violates federal laws.
    • Letitia James contended that the former president failed to demonstrate that Knight Specialty Insurance Company, the company behind his bond, had the resources to pay the bond if Trump’s appeal failed.
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

98%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

NY AG asks Trump civil fraud judge to declare $175M bond ‘without effect’

Entertainment Variety Tv Site: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv-site/ Ella Lee Saturday, 20 April 2024 04:16
  • Unique Points
    • New York attorney general's office asked a judge to void $175 million bond secured by Trump
    • `KSIC`'s policyholder surplus is $138.4 million, which exceeded by $161.2 million in the face amount of the bond
  • Accuracy
    • Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump, the Trump Organization and top executives conspired to alter Trump’s net worth for tax and insurance benefits
    • Defendants failed to prove Knight Specialty Insurance Company has enough money to back the bond
    • KSIC's policyholder surplus is $138.4 million, which exceeded by $161.2 million in the face amount of the bond
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

88%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Letitia James Asks Justice Engoron to Make a Huge Decision

Newsweek LLC Aila Slisco Friday, 19 April 2024 22:18
  • Unique Points
    • New York Attorney General Letitia James is urging New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to void the $175 million bond that the ex-president posted to appeal his New York civil lawsuit.
    • James objected, noting that KSIC was not licensed in New York and raising questions about the company's financial capacity.
  • Accuracy
    • KSIC is accused of not being authorized to write business in New York and having insufficient funds to back the bond.
    • Trump was found liable for committing business fraud by illegally manipulating the value of assets for financial benefit and ordered to pay over $450 million earlier this year.
  • Deception (50%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication