Published by REALTOR.com | February 16, 2024
The former president was found liable for issuing false financial statements, falsifying business records, and conspiracy.
A New York judge on Friday ruled that Donald Trump, the nation’s first real estate mogul turned U.S. president, will have to pay a $355 million fine for overvaluing his real estate empire and other assets.
The former president was found liable for issuing false financial statements, falsifying business records, and conspiracy. He will be barred from leading a company in New York for three years. His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were fined $4 million each and can’t run an organization in the state for two years.
“They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money,” Justice Arthur Engoronwrote in his decision. “The documents prove this over and over again.”
The Republican front-runner for this year’s presidential election will appeal the ruling, but time is not on his side. He has 30 days to deliver the cash or secure a bond. He is also facing four criminal trials this year.
“We’ve reached the point where your political beliefs combined with what venue your case is heard are the primary determinants of the outcome; not the facts of the case!” Donald Trump Jr. tweeted on Friday afternoon. “It’s truly sad what’s happened to our country, and I hope others see it before it’s too late to correct course!”
The Republican’s net worth is estimated to be about $3 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. But most of it is tied up in real estate, licensing deals, and hotels and resorts.
“He’s going to have to sell off his assets,” a prominent real estate expert said to Realtor.com®. He asked to remain anonymous.
However, “the valuations he’s placed on [his real estate] are nowhere near what the market would support,” the expert continued. “The actual value of his properties could be very disappointing to him.”
The Republican had been accused of overstating the value of his real estate and other assets. These included his namesake Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he announced his first run for president in 2015, as well as his Palm Beach, FL, home at Mar-a-Lago.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also accused the former president of misrepresenting the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, tripling the square footage, to increase its valuation by more than $200 million. James is a Democrat.
Trump also claimed Mar-a-Lago was worth between $1 billion and $5 billion. But the judge pointed out that the deed for the property, which Trump signed, prohibited it from being valued as a private residence.
