Judge Arthur Engoron hit Donald Trump with his biggest punishment to date Friday, in a ruling that fined the former president nearly $355 million for fraudulently inflating the values of his properties.
The dollar amount dwarfed the verdict against Trump issued last month in the defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll — an $83 million judgment — hitting home just how much the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case threatens Trump’s business empire.
Engoron found Trump liable for fraud, conspiracy, issuing false financial statements, and falsifying business records, barring him from serving as director of a company in New York for three years.
While the judge pulled back from trying to dissolve the Trump Organization altogether, Engoron issued a blistering 93-page opinion that painted the former president as unremorseful and highly likely to commit fraud again.
“This Court finds that defendants are likely to continue their fraudulent ways unless the Court grants significant injunctive relief,” Engoron wrote.
