🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Donald Trump will owe more than $1 million in interest on his fraud judgment by next Wednesday—and the figure continues to grow.
Trump owes New York state $454 million. That figure is increasing by $87,502 each day until he pays. That's because New York charges 9 percent per year interest until defendants pay the amounts owed in lawsuits.
Judge Arthur Engoron fined Trump just under $355 million on February 16 for falsely inflating the value of his assets. Engoron backdated that award to include past interest, bringing the total fine to about $454 million.
On the 9 percent interest, Trump is being charged an additional $87,502 per day from February 16, according to Associated Press calculations. That means Trump will have to pay $1,050,024 for the 12 days between February 16 and Wednesday, February 28.
Trump has 30 days to launch an appeal but must post the full $454 million before being allowed to do so. That may be done by posting a bond, but that, too, will be charged interest by an insurance company or others who may put up the money.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who took the fraud case against Trump, has hinted that she may seize his property if he doesn't pay the lawsuit award, naming the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street as a possible target.
"We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers," James told ABC on Tuesday. "And yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's attorney for comment via email.
Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, told Newsweek that James has the legal right to seize Trump's property if he doesn't pay. She would likely target his cash and liquid assets first, as those would be the easiest to obtain by court order.
Under New York law, Trump will receive an automatic stay if he pays the judgment or posts an appeal bond covering the amount he owes. However, the accumulation of interest will continue and will have to be paid if he loses the appeal case.
Trump, the current Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has maintained his innocence in the case and claimed it was politically motivated.
In his judgment, Engoron ruled that Trump must pay roughly $354.4 million in penalties for overinflating the value of his assets. The former president's two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were ordered to each pay about $4.7 million.
Until they pay, Trump's sons each owe an extra $990 per day, according to AP's calculations.
A lawyer for the defendants in the case asked Judge Arthur Engoron to delay the enforcement of penalties by 30 days to allow for an "orderly post-judgment process."
Lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James submitted a draft judgment to Engoron to sign on Tuesday, which was criticized by Trump's defense lawyer Clifford Robert.
"To deprive Defendants of the opportunity to submit a proposed counter-judgment would be contrary to fundamental fairness and due process," Robert wrote in a letter to the court Wednesday morning.
"The Attorney General has not filed any motion on notice, nor moved to settle the proposed Judgment," Robert said. "Her unseemly rush to memorialize a 'judgment' violates all accepted practice in New York state court."
fairness meter
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