(LibertyInsider.org) – Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty of defamation and liable for business fraud in two civil cases. He has moved to appeal both of them, but in order to do so, he has to post bond. Most of the time, the bond amount is 110% of the penalty, but Trump was given a break in the fraud case when a judge reduced his bond amount from $464 million to $175 million. He recently posted that amount.
On February 16, Trump was found liable for inflating his net worth in an effort to obtain loans. Judge Arthur Engoron slapped him with a $454 million penalty, which he is appealing. When he struggled to come up with the money after posting a $91.6 million bond in his defamation case involving former journalist E. Jean Carroll, an appeals court reduced the amount he needed to post to appeal the business fraud case.
Prior to that, Trump had been unable to secure the bond and had been rejected by over 30 companies. His attorneys argued that he would suffer irreparable harm had the amount not been reduced.
Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case, averting asset seizures by state authorities that could have hobbled the former US president’s business empire https://t.co/ZmCYNPjiSl
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 2, 2024
The payment effectively stops the seizure of the former president’s assets, something New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) promised to do if he didn’t fork over the money. Those assets included properties, such as Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, and his golf course.
Trump was able to secure the bond through Knight Specialty Insurance, which is backed by Don Hankey, a self-professed supporter. He said the former president “put up all the collateral in cash,” calling it a “relatively low number.”
Should the appeal fail, Trump will be responsible for the entire $464 million, and if he cannot pay, his assets will be forfeited. Despite Engoron’s proclamation that “the frauds found [in the case] leap off the page and shock the conscience,” Trump maintains that he is innocent.
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