Court Lowers Trump Bond From $464 Million to $175 Million

The order came after defense attorneys argued a $464 million bond was impossible after having contracted four brokers to negotiate with more than 30 companies. Sureties don’t issue bonds that big for private individuals, and even if the Trump Organization was a public conglomerate they could issue such a bond to, it would require some $570 million in cash to cover additional premiums.

The court’s conditions for lowering the bond include President Trump posting $175 million within 10 days and the other orders on the judgment going into effect.

The judgment permanently bars former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and comptroller Jeffrey McConney from serving in financial control of any New York business entity; permanently bars President Trump, Mr. Wesselberg, and Mr. McConney from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years; bars President Trump from applying for loans for New York financial institutions for three years; and bars Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director in New York for two years.

The stay is conditioned on the appeals being done by September 2024.

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“This is a confrontation between a Judge and those that rule above him – A very bad situation in which to place New York State and the Rule of Law!” he stated. “This is the 5th time in this case that he has been overturned, a record. His credibility, and that of Letitia James, has been shattered.”

In a social media post Monday morning, President Trump said the case was “rigged” and the disgorgement figure the judge set was what was fraudulent.

“These Radical Left Lunatics and Communists ask me to pay a ridiculous and completely unheard of fine of over $450,000,000 only because they saw a similar amount in my bank account. I had intended to use much of that hard earned money on running for President,” he wrote in another post. “They don’t want me to do that — ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

The defense has maintained that no wrongdoing occurred, and stressed that no victims have been named who are owed the $464 million figure.

The statements are not official financial documents, but rather marketing pieces wherein Trump Organization summarized values of major assets, totaling to a net worth figure for President Trump that the court found to be routinely inflated.

The statements were used to introduce the company in several deals, including securing major loans for development projects. The defense has argued that these deals were done with sophisticated financial entities who read the disclaimer on the statements asking parties to do their own analyses, and did so.

Other parties including the Zurich insurance group also testified they also did their own analyses, and an appraiser hired by another lender testified he had been hired to look at 40 Wall Street with no input from Trump Organization. He disagreed with the organization’s own valuation, giving his employer a different figure.

In a Sept. 26, 2023, summary judgment, Justice Engoron found the defendants liable for fraud, and the trial beginning Oct. 2, 2023, would deal with materiality and intent to defraud.

During the trial, defendants sought to argue no fraud occurred, over the judge’s reminders not to reopen litigation to matters he had already decided. Toward the latter half of the trial, the defense opted to continue to do so, in order to preserve a record for appeal.