In addition to the cash judgement, I think the lawsuit seeks to have the named parties barred from serving as the officers on any corporation in New York State for 5 years.
So maybe the Trumps will set up shop in FL or TX. And I’m sure Trump can easily grift 250 million from his supporters, if everyone that voted for him pitches in something like $3.25, he’s covered!
I’ve been reading the complaint - it’s very long - and planning that trial, if there is one, will be a daunting task, there’s just so much there and getting a jury to understand the financial details isn’t going to be easy. I know more than most about real estate finance, I think financial crimes are interesting, and I’m finding some if it difficult to follow. The short story …. he lied and said his properties were worth way more than they really are” is easy, but some of the mechanisms he used to manipulate the values may be difficult to follow, especially for the easily bored.
ETA: and I hate to say it, but there is ONE little tiny detail in the a analysis of ONE of the buildings where I don’t agree with the AG, and that has to do with the valuation of the rent stabilized apartments at Trump Park Ave.
Yes, a rent stabilized apartment is a huge liability, you can’t do anything with it for a long time, but you do still own it and I think $750,000 total for 12 units ( which is what the AG claims should be the correct value) is way low. The number Trump was claiming, which ignored the rent stabilized status completely, was still way way high, but her number is way low.
I imagine every bank is going to be very wary of loaning him money now that all this fraud has become public. No one is going to trust any of his financial statements. I also would love it if Forbes dropped him from their list, since he tried to lie his way up the the list.
I wonder if the kids’ attorneys (assuming they have the sense to have their own) are advising them to personally settle. Daddy will do everything he can to delay this until he dies. They don’t have that option.
“So, yeah, this might be weird… are y’all registered to do business in New York?.. oh, no! No reason at all, just a contract requirement on my end, you know how clients are, don’t worry about it… OK, so ‘no’? Great!.. uh, I mean, ‘interesting’. So let’s talk collateral and the valuation process…”
WTF? No. That’s like saying that rape victims shouldn’t be happy when their rapists go to jail.
Trump has allegedly committed many crimes, even admitting to a few. Obviously those of us who respect the rule of law want him punished for those crimes.
And, of course, his biggest crime was his attempt to install himself as president after losing the election, with all of the trying to get people to “find votes” for him, to pushing a crowd to literally attack the Capitol. When someone attacks the democracy of the United States of America, the patriots want that person punished. If you didn’t get upset at people wanting Osama Bin Laden killed, it makes no sense to be upset at people wanting Trump convicted.
Even if Trump himself doesn’t succeed, how we deal with this will inform how others try to attempt this. If we don’t take this as seriously as it is, we can count on someone else trying, and they might succeed where Trump failed.
There’s a reason why we keep talking our democracy being in peril here. If you can try to upend it and not face consequences, that just means it will happen again. If the President is above the law, then there is nothing to stop a rogue president from dooming our country.
What’s actually disturbing is that there are millions who know what Trump has done, but don’t want him punished.
IANA financial analyst and have no intention of doing the research, but my suspicion is that Trump’s net worth is a lot closer to zero than $3 billion. Sure, the properties in his name may add up to that total, but how leveraged are they?
A verdict against him and his family in this case wouldn’t just cost them the $250 million. It could also knock out vital cards supporting his house of cards empire, with many if not all of those valuable properties being snatched up by creditors.
(Actually, I imagine just the evidence of these overvaluations could start the collapse as creditors reassess their loans against their devalued collateral. They can make their own calls without having to wait for a verdict.)
Donald Trump is so goddamned broke that he literally brokered a deal with the RNC to hold off on his narcissistic pursuit of 2024 by having the RNC pay his attorneys. Yes, attorneys are expensive, but if he’s worth $4 billion, the burden should be easily handled.
Nothing points to me his financial straits than that. If he doesn’t get the Presidency in 2024, in his mind it all crashes down.
… but I think the timeline has moved up. He doesn’t have 2.5 years.
Guarantee “I need you to check our exposure” was a phrase repeated this morning at the top levels of every bank and financial institution which has, well, exposure to this guy.
In fact, listen carefully to the things he says he didn’t do - likely he did those exact things. In fact, the louder and more he brags about not doing something, the more likely it is that he actually did that very thing. And the more and louder he brags about doing something, it’s more than likely he did no such thing. A compulsive liar, that one.
