Judge rejects Trump’s appeal to pay just $100 million of $454 million in fines from New York fraud trial

A New York appeals judge on Wednesday refused to grant former President Donald Trump’s bid to pay less than a quarter of the fine imposed on him in a case against him for civil fraud in New York state.

Singh agreed to some of Trump’s requests, including lifting a three-year ban that prevented him from borrowing from New York banks, which could help him get the money he needs to pay the required bail.

Earlier Wednesday, Donald Trump’s lawyers said the former president was willing to post $100 million in bail, which represents less than a quarter of the staggering fine a judge imposed against him in a state civil fraud case.

Magnet’s legal team argued that provisions of the judgment made it impossible for the former president to pay the fine in full.

The lawyers are seeking to block New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office from carrying out the sentence while their appeal is pending. Singh ruled that Trump would have to deposit the full amount, which would automatically stop the collection.

In total, the Republican presidential candidate and his defendants owe the state more than $465 million. They have until March 25 to seek a stay, a legal mechanism that stops the recovery while they appeal, or they will be forced to pay fines or risk having some of their assets confiscated.

Judge Arthur Engron ruled that Trump committed fraud for nearly 11 years by submitting misleading financial statements for his companies, which allowed him to obtain loans and insurance at more favorable rates.

At least two years ago, the Trump Organization stopped sending inflated financial figures about its net worth to Deutsche Bank and other entities, but a court-appointed monitor said that was only after it was sued and the errors and misrepresentations in other financial documents continued. had been .

Although the bank offered Trump lower interest rates because he agreed to personally guarantee the loan with his own money, it’s unclear how much interest rates fell because of the inflated figures.

Last September, Judge Engron ruled that the state certificates required to operate many of his businesses in New York should be revoked.

Engron said Trump should lose control of those companies, the official owners of his Fifth Avenue headquarters and other iconic properties, and hand them over to a receiver to manage their “dissolution.”