The state of New York has positioned itself to seize Donald Trump's assets in Westchester County following a $454 million civil fraud judgement against the former president. The state registered the massive judgement in the county, a sign that his properties in the area may be at risk of being seized if Trump can't post an appeal bond.
The judgement, registered March 6 according to the Westchester Country Clerk's online database, didn't give any reason for the registration, nor did it specifically identify any of Trump's assets, but it will allow Attorney General Letitia James to more easily secure liens on two of the billionaire's most valuable properties - Trump National Golf Club Westchester, and the 212-acre Seven Springs estate which remains mostly undeveloped, Bloomberg reports.
James has said she’s prepared to start seizing Trump assets if he misses a March 25 deadline to post a bond for 120% of the judgment to put it on hold while he appeals. She hasn’t started that process, and the registration in Westchester County doesn’t automatically mean she will attempt to seize the properties. It’s nevertheless a clear sign they’re at risk.
Trump, who is campaigning to return to the White House in the November election, has asked a New York appeals court to waive the bond while he challenges the verdict, or allow him to post a smaller one for $100 million. A ruling on that request, which James opposes, could come at any time.
Trump and his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were found by Judge Arthur Engoron to be liable for inflating the former president's assets in order to obtain better terms on loans - despite the banks involved all saying they did their own internal due diligence and were happy with the relationship.
In a March 18 filing, Trump said that an appeal bond is "unattainable," as insurance companies that arrange them won't take his real estate as collateral - only cash, which Trump has previously warned he doesn't have. If the court doesn't help him with a lower bond, Trump says he'll have to sell properties in a "fire sale" to raise money.
In Manhattan, the state doesn't have to register the judgement since that's where the verdict was handed down. Trump properties in the Big Apple include Trump Tower and his skyscraper located at 40 Wall Street.
Democrats, meanwhile, are taking a victory lap.
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel goes into an unhinged rant of 'jokes' and calls Trump a 'Great White Supremacist' after playing a clip of him explaining that he’d rather be electrocuted than eaten by a shark
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) March 21, 2024
'The Great White Supremacist has until Monday to come up with a $464 million bond,… pic.twitter.com/blwhwOCamf
