New York state’s $454 million judgment against Donald Trump in a civil fraud lawsuit was formally registered in Westchester County just outside Manhattan, a sign that his properties in the area may be at risk of being seized if the former president fails to post an appeal bond.
New York Attorney General Letitia James registered the judgment on March 6, according to the Westchester County Clerk’s online database. The filing didn’t give a reason for the registration or identify any Trump assets, but it will allow James to more easily secure liens, should she decide to do so, on two of the real estate mogul’s most valuable properties: Trump National Golf Club Westchester and the mostly undeveloped 212-acre Seven Springs estate.
James has said she’s prepared to start seizing Trump assets if he misses a March 25 deadline to post a bond for 120% of the judgment to put it on hold while he appeals. She hasn’t started that process, and the registration in Westchester County doesn’t automatically mean she will attempt to seize the properties. It’s nevertheless a clear sign they’re at risk.
Trump, who is campaigning to return to the White House in the November election, has asked a New York appeals court to waive the bond while he challenges the verdict, or allow him to post a smaller one for $100 million. A ruling on that request, which James opposes, could come at any time.
Trump’s lawyer, Christopher Kise, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the registration.
The former president said in a March 18 filing that an appeal bond is “unattainable” because insurance companies that arrange them won’t take his real estate as collateral and will only take cash. Trump has already warned he doesn’t have enough cash for the bond and said he’ll be forced to sell properties in a “fire sale” to raise money if the court doesn’t help him out.
The state wouldn’t need to register the judgment in New York County to kick start lien procedures in Manhattan because that’s where the verdict was handed down. Trump’s properties on the island include Trump Tower and his 40 Wall Street skyscraper, not far from James’ offices.
Justice Arthur Engoron, who oversaw a nearly 11-week trial, found Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were liable for inflating the former president’s wealth by billions of dollars a year to get better terms on loans, reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in “illegal profit.”
Seven Springs featured heavily in the trial because James alleged the property had been wildly overvalued for years. Trump purchased the estate in 1995 for $7.5 million. It consists of two large homes, undeveloped land and a few other buildings. James alleged Trump valued the property at more than five times the appraised values in some years — as high as $291 million — often by including the value of mansions that didn’t exist.
Erik Larson, Bloomberg , 2024-03-21 20:57:13
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