In a recent development, Donald Trump and his company have filed an appeal against a civil fraud judgment in the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division. The judgment, which was handed down by Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron in February 2024, found Trump and his organization liable for business fraud.
The appeal argues that several loans cited by prosecutors should not have been considered in the case and that James seeks to unwind and penalize complex, successful transactions with Wall Street banks. The judgment currently stands at $354 million, with interest continuing to accrue.
Trump was barred from running any New York company for three years, and his sons Donald Jr. and Eric were prohibited from running any business in New York for two years. The lawsuit against Trump and his business was filed in 2022, alleging they lied on financial statements to make more money.
Trump's lawyers claimed that the financial statements were private transactions and that every loan payment was made on time and all loans were repaid in full. They also argued that applying the correct statute of limitations would eliminate $350,980,057 of the $464,576,229 judgment.
The appeal comes after a lengthy trial during which Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron oversaw proceedings and found Trump and his business liable for civil fraud. The case was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who hailed the victory as demonstrating that 'everyone must play by the same rules.'
Trump has criticized the case and the civil judgment, insisting he did nothing wrong. James has said that Trump cheated the system by intentionally inflating his net worth by billions of dollars and that she is committed to protecting the integrity of the marketplace.
The appeal will be heard in New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, with oral arguments scheduled for a later date.