Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond Monday in his civil fraud case in New York, stopping the collection of more than $454 million he owes and preventing the state from seizing his assets to pay off the debt until he appealsaccording to court records.
A New York appeals court gave the former president 10 days to pay the money after a panel of judges last month agreed to reduce the amount needed to stop the enforcement proceedings.
The bond Trump is now posting in court is essentially a placeholder meant to guarantee payment if the ruling is upheld. If this happens, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to pay the state the entire amount, which increases with daily interest.
If Trump wins, he won’t have to pay anything to the government and will get back the money he invested now.
“As promised, President Trump posted bail. He hopes to defend his rights in appeal and overturn this unfair verdict,” said one of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba.
Until the appeals court intervened and lowered the required bail, New York Attorney General Letitia James was prepared to pursue efforts to collect the judgment, possibly by seizing some of Trump’s properties. James, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the state. Her office declined to comment Monday.
The court made the decision after Trump’s lawyers said it was “practical impossibility” to force the underwriter to sign a bond for the $454 million plus interest he owes.
The company that guaranteed the bonds is Knight Specialty Insurance, part of the Knight Insurance Group. The company’s chairman, billionaire Don Hankey, told The Associated Press that both cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump’s appeal bond.
“That’s what we do at Knight Insurance, and we’re happy to do it for anyone who needs collateral,” said Hankey, who is best known in the business world for making high-risk, high-interest loans to car buyers. with a damaged credit history. Hankey told the AP that he had never met or spoken with Trump.
Trump fights for repeal judge’s conclusion of February 16 what he lied about his wealth as he helped develop a real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the presidency. The trial focused on how Trump’s assets were valued in financial statements sent to bankers and insurers to obtain loans and deals.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying the statements were in fact understated his conditioncomes with disclaimers and were not taken at face value institutions that provided him with credit or insured him.
The state Courts Appellate Division said it will hear the arguments in September. No specific date has been set. If the schedule continues, it will fall in the final weeks of the presidential race.
Under New York State law, filing an appeal does not generally stay enforcement of a decision. But there is an automatic stay – in legal parlance this means a stay – if an individual or entity obtains a bond guaranteeing payment of the amount due.
Courts sometimes make exceptions and lower the amount required to stay, as in Trump’s case.
Trump’s lawyers told the appeals court that more than 30 bond companies are unwilling to accept both cash and real estate as collateral for more than $454 million in bonds. The underwriters insisted on using only cash, shares or other liquid assets, the lawyers said.
They said most bond companies require collateral covering 120% of the amount owed.
Trump recently said he has nearly half a billion dollars in cash and billions of dollars in real estate and other assets, but said he wants to have some money for his presidential run.
Recent legal debts have drained much of Trump’s cash reserves.
In addition to the $175 million he was forced to post in the New York case, Trump posted more than $97 million in bail and cash to cover money he owes author E. Jean Carroll while he appeals convictions in a pair of federal civil cases ships. tests. The jury found that he sexually abused her in the 1990s and defamed her when she went public with her allegations in 2019. He denies all charges.
In February Trump paid $392,638 in legal fees that a judge ordered him to cover for The New York Times and three reporters after he unsuccessfully sued them over a 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning story about his family’s wealth and tax practices.
In March, the British court ordered Trump to pay legal costs of £300,000. ($382,000) to a company he unsuccessfully sued over the so-called Steele dossier, which contained salacious allegations against him. Trump said the claims were false.
Trump could end up making money by selling some almost 60% shares he owns his new publicly traded social network, Trump Media & Technology Group, but it will be a long-term play. Trump’s stake could be worth billions of dollars, but a lock-up provision prevents insiders like him from selling their shares for six months.