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Donald Trump should be banned for life from the real estate industry, New York Attorney General Letitia James' office has argued in a court filing.
Colleen Faherty, a lawyer in James' office, submitted a letter to the judge in Trump's New York fraud case requesting that he stop Trump from ever working in the real estate industry again.
Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump committed fraud by exaggerating the value of his real estate assets and must now decide the punishment.
In her letter, filed on Tuesday, Faherty informed Engoron about the appeal court decision in the case of Martin Shkreli, nicknamed 'Pharma Bro' by the media, who has been banned for life from the pharmaceuticals industry. She noted that Shkreli was also fined more than $60 million.
According to Faherty, New York State Executive Law 63(12)—which was used in the New York attorney general's lawsuits against both Trump and Shkreli—gives the court the ability to "issue a permanent and plenary ban in a particular industry" and should be applied to Trump.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney on Wednesday.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower New York federal court's decision to ban Shkreli for life because he tried to block competition while increasing the price of a drug by more than 4,000 percent in 2015. His actions raised the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim by more than $700 per tablet.
The ruling stemmed from an antitrust lawsuit that James, the Federal Trade Commission, and six other states filed against Shkreli.
"We write to provide the Court with notice of supplemental authority: the recent Second Circuit decision in Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Shkreli," Faherty stated in her letter.
"The Second Circuit unanimously affirmed in full the district court's order enjoining Martin Shkreli from participation in the pharmaceutical industry for life and ordering him to disgorge $64.6 million," Faherty wrote.
Faherty included a copy of the 2nd Circuit's eight-page judgment with her letter.
Trump, his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization, are co-defendants in the $370 million civil fraud trial brought by James. She accuses the former president of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills.
The former president denies wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly said that the litigation was politically motivated to derail his 2024 presidential campaign, given he is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
In September, Engoron ruled that Trump, his adult sons, their businesses and executives committed fraud in their property valuations. The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud and conspiracy claims.
The trial ended on January 11 when Engoron said he hoped to hand down a ruling by January 31.
In the Shkreli appeal ruling, a three-judge Second Circuit panel considered "a pattern of past misconduct, the obvious likelihood of its recurrence, and the life-threatening nature of its results."
"We are persuaded that the district court's determination as to the proper scope of the injunction was well within its discretion," they ruled.
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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