Former US president was convicted by the New York Court of inflating his assets by up to US$2.2 billion
Former US President Donald Trump deposited bail of US$175 million (around R$885 million) on Monday (April 1, 2024) to appeal his conviction in the civil fraud case. The payment prevents New York Attorney General Letitia James from requesting the confiscation of assets and the freezing of the former president’s bank accounts.
On February 16, Trump was ordered by the New York Supreme Court to pay an initial fine of $355 million for inflating his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion. With interest, the total penalty increased to about $454 million. On March 25, an appeals court lowered the amount to $175 million. Here is the full decision (PDF – 83 kB, in English).
The verdict came after Trump’s lawyers said on March 18 that the former US president would not be able to pay the initial $454 million bail. The amount corresponded to the total fine imposed in the February 16 sentence.
In addition to the fine, Trump was banned from making loans and holding important positions in any company in the State of New York for 3 years. The court decision of March 25 suspended these penalties.
The former president was indicted, on September 21, 2022, by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James. At the time, he was accused of inflating the values of the family’s properties in statements to banks and insurance companies in order to obtain better loans.
Among the inflated values, which would range from US$812 million (R$2.9 billion) to US$2.2 billion (R$10.7 billion), would be the resort of Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, his penthouse at Trump Tower in Manhattan, and other buildings and golf courses.
In a post on the social network Truth Social, Trump said he had paid bail to “sad and problematic” New York State. He denied having committed any crime and declared that the case against him is a “manufactured scam” for “election interference”. Americans will elect their next president this year and Trump should be the Republican Party’s candidate.
