𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕌𝕊 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕒𝕦𝕕 𝕚𝕟 ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕐𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕔𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕝 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕖

𝔸 ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕐𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕛𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝔻𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕒𝕝𝕦𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕥𝕤, 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕣 𝕌𝕊 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕓𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖.

T

he scathing decision by Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York state court in Manhattan will make it easier for state Attorney General Letitia James to establish damages at a trial scheduled for 2 October.

Engoron also ordered the cancellation of certificates that let some of Trump's businesses, including the Trump Organisation, operate in New York, and ordered the appointment of a receiver to manage the businesses' dissolution.

The judge described how Trump, his adult sons Donald Jr and Eric, the Trump Organisation and other defendants made up valuations and inflated Trump's net worth to suit their business needs.

"That is a fantasy world, not the real world," Engoron wrote.

The judge also sanctioned the defendants' lawyers for making "preposterous" legal arguments and fuelling their clients' "obstreperous" conduct.

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Trump and the other defendants have argued that they never committed fraud, and that the challenged transactions were profitable. They plan to appeal Engoron's decision.

"Today's outrageous decision is completely disconnected from the facts and governing law," Christopher Kise, a lawyer for Trump, said in a statement.

"President Trump and his family will seek all available appellate remedies to rectify this miscarriage of justice."

James said she looked forward to presenting the rest of her case at trial.

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"It's a devastating ruling," said Bill Black, distinguished scholar in residence for financial regulation at the University of Minnesota Law School. He said cancelling business certificates could hurt Trump's ability to make money.

"If the decision is upheld, they have to liquidate the LLCs which actually hold the enormous bulk of the assets," Black said, referring to limited liability companies.

Trump holds a commanding lead in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

He has attacked James, a Democrat, saying her case and other litigation against him was part of a politically-motivated "witch hunt."

Not 'immaterial'

James sued Trump in September 2022, accusing him, his adult children and the Trump Organisation of lying for a decade about asset values and his net worth to defraud banks and insurers into providing better terms.

Engoron said James submitted "conclusive evidence" that Trump had overstated his net worth by between $812 million and $2.2 billion.

"Even in the world of high finance, this court cannot endorse a proposition that finds a misstatement of at least $812 million dollars to be 'immaterial'," he wrote.

The judge said Trump's overvaluations included his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan's Trump Tower, and various office buildings and golf courses.

He took particular issue with Trump's claim that the penthouse was 30,000 square feet (2787 square meters), nearly three times its actual size, resulting in an overvaluation of as much as $207 million.

"A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud," Engoron wrote.

The judge said Trump also grossly overvalued Mar-a-Lago, estimating it was worth as much as $612.1 million, though an assessor said its market value was no more than $27.6 million.

Engoron also chided Trump for offering defences in a deposition that were "wholly without basis," including that there was nothing wrong with how he valued properties in a given year if their values subsequently went up.

"He also seems to imply that the numbers cannot be inflated because he could find a 'buyer from Saudi Arabia' to pay any price he suggests," the judge wrote.

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Slew of litigation

Engoron ruled three months after a state appeals court said some of James' claims were too old because statutes of limitations had expired in either July 2014 or February 2016.

He rejected Trump's argument that the decision essentially gutted James' lawsuit, which James has said reflected a series of "continuing wrongs" that she could prove at trial.

The appeals court dismissed one defendant, Trump's daughter Ivanka, from the case.

Trump also faces a slew of other litigation.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges in four indictments accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election, hoarding classified materials, and covering up hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump also faces a January civil trial over damages he owes for defaming a writer who claimed he raped her.

Engoron's decision does not automatically mean James' fraud case will go to trial next Monday.

Trump has sued to delay the trial, accusing Engoron and James of ignoring the appeals court order to narrow the case.

He and the other defendants have said this made it impossible to prepare for trial because they did not know which claims they would have to defend against.

The appeals court is expected to rule on the request for a delay this week.

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