This will happen if Trump does not get bail of 464 million US dollars

(CNN) — Donald Trump’s legal team and the New York attorney general’s office are working hard to secure bail for the former president in a multimillion-dollar civil fraud judgment against him before a deadline this Monday.

Trump personally owes more than $454 million due to a ruling handed down by Judge Arthur Angoron in February. If his sons Eric and Donald Jr., the Trump Organization and interest accrued since the date of sentencing are included, the figure rises to US$463.9 million.

Experts who spoke to CNN say Attorney General Letitia James and her staff should be prepared to begin the complex legal process of seizing Trump’s assets if the former president does not secure the bonds needed to cover the Angoron ruling when he appeals.

Assets like buildings, houses, cars, helicopters and your plane are up for grabs. The main focus could be their bank accounts, which experts say would be easier to seize, and properties, which would be more difficult.

Trump asked a state appeals court to allow him to post lower bail — or none at all — saying he could not be reimbursed if he is forced to sell the properties in a fire sale that cannot be undone if he ultimately wins his appeal. There will be such a loss. The court has not yet ruled.

Here’s what will happen if Trump can’t secure bail:

Seizure of bank accounts and cash

In theory, officials could begin the complex legal process of seizing his assets, absent further strategic legal maneuvering by state attorneys and a fightback from Trump’s legal team. Officials have to weigh what assets they want to take, whether their bank accounts or their properties. Experts believe that the first course of action should be to freeze your bank accounts.

“The banks are the easy part, they’ll get a ruling from the attorney general — a court order — and then the banks will enforce it,” said attorney Peter Katz, a former federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York who prosecuted the case. Fraud cases. “They take the funds out of the account and deposit them into the attorney general’s account. The other thing is a little more difficult.”

Taking money from Trump’s account requires state prosecutors to ask a New York sheriff or US marshal, armed with a warrant, to enter the main branch of the bank where Trump has the money.

“They come in and give it to the manager,” said Adam Pollock, a former New York state assistant attorney general who now specializes in sentencing enforcement at Pollock Cohen LLP. “The manager is to pay the amount immediately. It should be a bearer check.”

Any additional time the attorney general’s office sees could be part of determining the right strategy.

“They’re trying to get their act together. They want to find the most liquid assets that they can freeze immediately. A bank account is the most efficient way to do that,” said debt collection attorney Alden B. Smith said. “They’re probably deciding what the best course of action is.”

What happens to buildings and companies?

Foreclosure takes a long time.

Once state attorneys decide what property they want to take, they give the sheriff’s office a writ of execution along with a $350 fee, Pollock said. The sheriff then posts the property ad in three places, and the attorney general’s office must advertise it four times, Pollack said. Then, within 63 days of the sheriff being served with the writ of execution, a public auction is held for the property, according to Pollock.

“They can say ‘hand over the property of these 500 corporations and LLCs to the sheriff for public auction,’ or enough so that they can satisfy the judgment or $455 million,” Pollock said.

Since Trump’s properties are out of state, the forfeiture process will be more difficult, so state prosecutors have already made some legal moves to get the ball rolling in New York.

The attorney general’s office filed the rulings in Westchester County, north of New York City, in what some say is the first sign the state is laying the groundwork to seize the former president’s golf course at Briarcliff Manor, as well as his private property. seven springs.

State prosecutors recorded the sentences at the Westchester County Clerk’s Office on March 6, just a week after Angoron’s sentencing.

What about Mar-a-Lago?

No other lawsuits have been filed, but the process could unfold in other states where Trump has assets, particularly Mar-a-Lago in Florida, though other properties may be less difficult to take.

“The attorney general’s office is the largest company in New York state, if you think of it as a law firm. The office has zero lawyers in Florida. I would foreclose on a property in New York before I see anything. Florida,” Pollack said.

A major legal battle could be over which part of Mar-a-Lago is considered Trump’s home, which can be protected by law.

“The center may have an expansion of Homestead. But that has to be played out on the court,” Pollock said.

Can Trump get out of this?

Trump is still waiting for an appeals court to reduce the amount he will pay as part of the sentence or suspend the sentence while his appeal is considered.

If he doesn’t win his appeal, bankruptcy remains an option, though the former president doesn’t want to take it.

“You don’t want to file for bankruptcy, because then the debt will be discharged,” Smith said. “If you file for bankruptcy, the judgment is automatically stayed. Bankruptcy is collection enforcement’s biggest nemesis for attorneys.”

If Trump doesn’t get the money, his options are greatly reduced.

“I don’t see any other way you can stop the process without declaring bankruptcy or getting a bond,” Smith said.

Trump and his team may sell small properties as a way to try to satisfy the debt.

“At the end of the day, he’ll do anything before he lets Tish James put a metaphorical lock on 40 Wall Street,” Harry Littman, a former assistant attorney general, told CNN on Friday.

As the clock ticks down, some experts wonder why a grace period was even granted.

“There’s no reason for citizenship when you’re $455 million in debt after being held accountable for defrauding the people of New York state,” Pollock said. “He’s not someone you’d normally be polite to.”

Does Trump have the cash?

The former president posted on Truth Social this Friday that he currently has about $500 million in cash that he intends to use for his campaign and that James “wants to take it from him.”

“Through hard work, talent and luck, I currently have about five hundred million dollars in cash, a large sum of which I intend to use in my campaign for President. Orrupt case from the AG, where I have done nothing wrong, I know this. was, he wanted to take it away from me,” Trump posted in all caps.

His lawyer, Chris Kiss, told CNN that Trump was not referring to the cash he had on hand.

“What he’s talking about is money that shows up on his campaign ad forms and that he’s owned and operated successful businesses over the years,” Kiss told CNN on Friday. “That’s certainly the cash that Letitia James and the Democrats have their sights on.”

Trump also recently e. Jean Carroll had to post nearly $92 million in bail to satisfy the judgment against him in the defamation case while he appeals.

Littman told CNN that the fraud convictions have resulted in less money than Trump says. Either way, he added, it’s a devastating blow to the former president.

“It’s like a company that suddenly has no chairs, no furniture, no accounts receivable or anything. It’s really the end of the day, I think, for the Trump Organization in New York,” Litman said. . “It’s an ugly, ugly situation for him, even if it’s halfway accurate.”