Feb. 16 (UPI) — A verdict is expected Friday in the New York civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump.
New York State Judge Arthur Engoron will rule on the penalty the former president faces after being convicted of inflating the values of Trump Organization properties. New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked Engoron to fine Trump and his co-defendants $370 million in penalties and ban him from doing real estate business in New York for life.
James also asked that Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., be banned from doing any real estate business in the state for five years.
Trump is accused of submitting fraudulent financial statements that inflate his net worth by as much as $812 million to $2.2 billion. He was found guilty in September.
Properties Trump is alleged to have inflated the values of include his Mar-A-Lago property in Florida and Trump Tower at 40 Wall Street in New York.
The former president denied any wrongdoing, arguing that James targeted him for politically motivated reasons. In his closing statements last month he asserted that he is owed damages from the prosecution.
Those closing statements came after Trump was initially barred from speaking. Engoron warned that Trump may only speak if he agrees to follow a strict set of guidelines. This included speaking only to the facts of the case and not delivering new testimony. Trump’s defense said he would not agree to such terms in an email exchange before the day in court but again requested that he be allowed to speak once in the courtroom.
Following the in-person request, Trump delivered closing statements for several minutes without Engoron’s permission.
Trump’s attorney Alina Habba signaled that she expected defeat after leaving the courtroom in January, announcing in a press conference that “before I walked into the court we had already lost.”
Trump was more optimistic, saying Engoron’s decision “may surprise some people.”
“We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Prosecutor Andrew Amer said that various Trump Organization executives were involved with the fraud but the responsibility ultimately lies with Trump.
