New York Attorney General Letitia James pledged on Tuesday to petition a judge to confiscate Donald Trump’s assets, which includes some of his highly valued properties in New York City, if he doesn’t pay the $355 million judgment against him.
“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James told ABC News.
The ex-president is obliged to pay the fine despite his intention to appeal Justice Arthur Engoron’s recent decision, which was announced on Friday, to fine Trump a staggering $355 million, Letitia James explained. Trump, along with others, was instructed to pay a combined sum of $364 million, including interest, which amounts to $450 million, as per the Attorney General’s office.
James said she is “very confident” that the real-estate tycoon will fail in his appeal of Friday’s ruling, which he ripped Friday as a “complete and total sham.”
The attorney general of the state further stated that she will not hesitate to pursue Trump’s renowned 40 Wall St. skyscraper or his other valuable urban properties if he fails to produce the funds to cover the substantial fines.
” We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day,” said James, whose Manhattan office is downtown, to the outlet.
During his three-month civil fraud trial last year, Trump and his legal team consistently asserted that there were no victims in James’ case, which accused Trump of inflating his assets by billions of dollars annually on financial statements over a decade to secure more favorable loan terms. Trump’s defense argued that he repaid all the loans and the banks that were owed money.
James responded to ABC, stating, “Financial frauds are not victimless crimes.”
“He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering,” she said. “If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents.”
Trump has also claimed Engoron’s ruling will drive business out of New York, to which James countered, “Last I checked, tourism is up.
“Wall Street is doing just fine,” she added.
