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The judge overseeing Donald Trump's civil fraud case could decide on the penalty against the former president and his company as early as Friday.
Judge Arthur Engoron previously said that he hoped to rule on New York Attorney General Letitia James' fraud lawsuit by mid-February after not meeting his prior self-imposed deadline of January 31.
Any penalty would be a major blow to Trump, who found fame and fortune in real estate, and still cites his sharp business acumen as a reason why he also became a success in politics. The former president has long denied any wrongdoing and claims the case against him is a politically motivated "witch hunt."
Trump is accused of filing fraudulent financial statements that inflated the value of his properties and assets by billions of dollars to obtain perks such as improved loan terms or tax breaks.
James was originally seeking $250 million in penalties when she filed her suit against Trump, The Trump Organization, children Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and others in September 2022.
In early January, James' office argued that Trump the others named in her lawsuit should pay $370 million in penalties over claims that Trump's financial statements vastly overvalued his net worth for years.
Other penalties that Engoron could hand down include banning the former president and The Trump Organization from operating businesses in New York.
Trump is also at risk of having his properties removed from his control or being prohibited from applying for any new loans in the state for five years.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's legal team for comment by email.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, lawyer and legal analyst Lisa Rubin explained that Engoron's ruling "can be appealed but cannot be wiped away" if Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, wins November's election.
Rubin also noted that Trump cannot "just pick up and move" his companies out of New York in order to escape punishment.
In September, 2022, the same day that James announced the lawsuit, a new Delaware-based entity called the Trump Organization II, was registered in New York state.
In response, James' office called for measures to be implemented to ensure that the original Trump Organization does not move assets out of New York into the Delaware company or anywhere else without court approval ahead of the civil trial.
Engoron agreed to James' request in November 2022 and set up an independent monitor to ensure any transactions of the Trump Organization do not take place without first notifying James' office or the courts. Trump attorney Alina Habba previously assured that the real estate company had "no intention of doing anything improper" with regard to moving assets.
"Without telling the judge or the AG [...] the Trump Org. cannot just play three-card Monty & move their buildings or golf courses or even their cash around so they wind up in new business entities outside New York," Rubin posted.
"Instead, at best, they have to give their adversaries, a court, and the court-appointed monitor a two-week head start, in which time they could be further enjoined.
"The bottom line is they're mostly stuck in place—and on Friday, it could get much, much worse."
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more