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New York Attorney General Letitia James will begin seizing money from Donald Trump's bank accounts first unless he can raise a $454 million fraud trial bond on Monday, March 25, a trial lawyer has said.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek that James will only move on to liquidating the former president's assets after targeting his cash.
"He'll either have to put up the cash or secure a bond by Monday, or James' office will begin the process of seizing his cash and properties. James will first try to seize cash in bank accounts, then property in New York, then property in other states," Rahmani said.
In February, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million, plus interest, and barred him from doing business in New York for three years after finding him liable for financial fraud in September 2023 in a lawsuit brought on by James' office. Trump, the presumed GOP presidential nominee in the 2024 election, has claimed that he has done nothing wrong and that the case is politically motivated against him. He is appealing Engoron's judgment.
Rahmani, president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm, said that, under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the constitution, other states must respect the judgments of New York courts.
Rahmani also said that bond companies are hesitant to provide the money because if Trump wins in November, they may have to enforce the bond against a sitting president.
Furthermore, Trump has to get the bond approved by the independent monitor who reports to Engoron. "Judge Engoron has also ordered the independent monitor to be involved in Trump's efforts to secure the bond, which isn't making it any easier," Rahmani said.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney on Monday.
James sued Trump, his two adult sons Donald Jr. and Eric, The Trump Organization and two firm executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, in September 2022. Engoron, who oversaw the trial, found that Trump inflated his assets to get more favorable business loans.
Trump, Weisselberg and McConney will also be barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in the state for three years. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were ordered to each pay more than $4 million and were banned from doing business in the state for two years.
On March 18, Trump's legal team said paying the full civil fraud penalty would be "a practical impossibility"—leading to speculation that James could soon begin seizing the former president's properties, or that he may be forced to sell some of his real-estate empire to pay the fine.
Writing on Truth Social, his social media platform, on Monday, Trump said: "Why should a Crooked, highly political New York Judge, Arthur Engoron, working in concert and coordination with an even more Corrupt Attorney General, Letitia 'Peekaboo' James, his Puppet Master, and the White House, be allowed to take away, and sell off, very successful properties and assets that took me years to zone, build and nurture into some of the best of their kind anywhere in the World—WHEN I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!
"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. They don't want me to do that—ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
Newsweek approached the offices of Engoron and James by email for comment.
About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more