Donald Trump has multiple loans on his properties amounting to at least $200 million, which may devalue their worth and make it less likely that they will be seized to recuperate the costs of his legal fines.
The former president has until March 25 to come up with the bond amount or New York Attorney Letitia James could begin seizing some of his assets and properties after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that the former president will have to pay roughly $355 million in penalties for fraud. The February ruling stated that Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization inflated the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers.
The lawsuit, brought by James, initially sought $250 million in damages, but she increased this figure to $370 million, plus interest. With interest, the payment exceeds $464 million.
But this week, the former president’s legal team said paying the full civil fraud penalty would be “a practical impossibility” leading to speculation that James may soon start seizing his properties.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
If she does, according to Trump’s 2023 Office of Government Ethics certified financial disclosures, obtained by the Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW), Trump has loans on multiple properties that may affect their value.
One is a mortgage on Trump Tower, incurred in 2012, that is for over $50 million. Another, for private estate Seven Springs, was incurred in 2000. It is worth between $5 million and $25 million.
40 Wall Street also has a mortgage of over $50 million. James said these properties had “fraudulent” and “misleading” values and could end up being seized.
All in all, the combined total of the properties listed by the disclosures is over $200 million.
Newsweek contacted a representative for Trump by email to comment on this story.
If the properties are not seized, it has been speculated that Trump may have to sell off some of his real estate empire to pay the penalty issued to him by Engoron.
In a post to his Truth Social account this week, Trump criticized the judgment handed down by Engoron and said he may have to sell some of his properties cheaply to come up with the bond amount.
“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision. In other words, he is trying to take my Appellate Rights away from me,” Trump wrote. “I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”
Uncommon Knowledge
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