As Trump Awaits Fraud Penalty, a Monitor’s Report Could Raise His Risk
As a New York judge weighs Donald J. Trump’s civil fraud case, new accusations of deficiencies in his company’s financial reporting could provide the judge with ammunition for a forceful ruling against the former president and his family business.
The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, will soon decide on any consequences Mr. Trump might face as a result of the New York attorney general’s accusation that he fraudulently exaggerated his net worth to obtain favorable loans. After a monthslong trial, the attorney general, Letitia James, asked for a penalty of roughly $370 million, which would come on the heels of a separate jury verdict in a defamation case requiring Mr. Trump to pay $83.3 million.
The new accusations against Mr. Trump’s family business, the Trump Organization, came late last week in a report from an outside monitor whom Justice Engoron assigned in late 2022 to keep an eye on the company. The monitor, Barbara Jones, a former federal judge, has overseen how the company represents its finances to lenders.
Her report highlighted several paperwork issues at a family company trying to shake a legacy of sloppiness: missing disclosures, typos, math errors and questions about a $48 million loan between Mr. Trump and one of his companies. Ms. Jones, now a law firm partner, told the judge that collectively, the issues “may reflect a lack of adequate internal controls.”
A monitor drew attention to “deficiencies” in the Trump Organization’s financial reporting ahead of a verdict in a case brought by New York State that seeks $370 million.
www.nytimes.com
Maybe it was just routine sloppiness the Trump Org. has become accustom to for the many years it defrauded NY tax officials. Maybe it was intentional deception. Who knows? The important takeaway is Don does himself no favors by making sure these kinds of errors didn't continue.
$370M to NY. $88.3M to E. Jean. Pretty soon we'll be talking about real money.