In a civil fraud lawsuit, a New York judge ordered that Donald Trump pay $454 million (£360 million) in penalties and interest. Trump is appealing this decision.
The $355 million judgment this month has increased significantly due to interest, which will continue to accrue at a rate of at least $112,000 every day.
Attorney General of New York Letitia James has threatened to confiscate part of Mr. Trump’s assets if he doesn’t pay.
It was discovered that he had lied about the value of his properties to get better credit terms.
The former US president was also prohibited from conducting business in the state for three years by Judge Arthur Engoron.
The Republican front-runner’s appeal on Monday means that, as he gets ready for what is expected to be a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November, yet another court battle will stretch into election season.
All along, Mr. Trump has declared that he intended to file an appeal against the decision, branding it a political witch hunt.
The appellate court “will overturn this egregious fine and take the necessary steps to restore the public faith in New York’s legal system,” according to his attorney, Alina Habba, who expressed this expectation on Monday.
The attorneys requested that the appeal division determine whether Judge Engoron’s court “acted in excess of its jurisdiction,” “abused its discretion,” and “committed errors of law and/or fact” in their court filing.
Additionally, the former president’s attorneys have maintained that he was unfairly sued under a consumer protection law that is usually intended to punish companies who deceive their clients.
The legal team representing Mr. Trump has already contested at least ten of Judge Engoron’s decisions, including a gag order. A year or more could pass throughout the appeals process.
If Mr. Trump provides assets, cash, or an appeal bond that covers the judgment amount, the court may agree to halt the collection of the judgment. It’s uncertain which path he will choose.
Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, the two adult sons of the billionaire, were forced to pay $4 million apiece and are prohibited from conducting business in New York for a period of two years.
The ex-president’s financial reserves were further depleted last month when he was forced to pay $83 million to E Jean Carroll, a woman he was later discovered to have sexually assaulted, in a defamation lawsuit.
He stated in court last year that he has $400 million in liquid assets, yet it is unknown how much cash he has on hand.
Since Judge Engoron had previously found the former president guilty of corporate fraud, the main focus of the civil trial, which started in October, was establishing penalties against Mr. Trump.
Next month, he will take up another case in his own New York City. It is alleged in those criminal proceedings that Mr. Trump fabricated business records in order to hide the payment of hush money to an adult film star prior to the 2016 election.
