The New York Attorney General’s office, led by Letitia James, urged an appeals court on August 21 to affirm the $454 million civil fraud judgment against former President Donald Trump issued earlier this year.
In a 168-page filing, state attorneys argued that there is “overwhelming evidence” backing Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoran’s February 16 ruling, which found that former President Trump inflated his wealth to deceive insurers, banks, and other entities in order to grow his real estate empire.
Trump appealed the ruling in July, arguing that the judge “struggled to understand basic banking concepts” before issuing the penalty, leading to an erroneous decision.
State attorneys, responding in their submission to the First Department of the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division on Aug. 21, said that Trump’s appeal is filled with “meritless legal arguments.”
They say his appeal disregards substantial evidence from the bench trial that demonstrated “fraud and illegality on an immense scale.”
“Supreme Court’s liability determinations are supported by overwhelming evidence that, in each Statement, defendants used a variety of deceptive strategies to vastly misrepresent the values of Mr. Trump’s assets,” Assistant Solicitor General Daniel S. Magy wrote, referring to annual statements they said misrepresented Trump’s