Court orders Trump to pay over $350 million: What is the case — and can the former president afford the penalty?

Former US President Donald Trump must pay more than $350 million plus interest charges potentially adding another $100 million for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders, a New York court judge ruled on Friday (February 16).

Capping the yearslong case, Justice Arthur F Engoron barred Trump from holding top positions at any New York company, including parts of his own Trump Organisation, for three years. The judge also handed over a two-year ban to Trump’s adult sons and ordered them to pay more than $4 million each.

Here is a look at the case and if Trump would be able to pay the penalty.

What was the case?

In 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil suit against Trump, his adult sons, and his former aide Allen Weisselberg. She accused them of lying to lenders and insurers by fraudulently overstating the value of properties to “either lower his tax bill or improve the terms of his loans, all with an eye toward inflating his (Trump) net worth,” according to a report by The Atlantic.

In September 2023, Justice Engoron found Trump and other accused guilty of committing fraud and ruled that no trial was needed to ascertain the accusations levelled by James.

The trial — with no jury — that began in October was to determine if Trump had violated other New York laws, how much penalty should be imposed on him, and whether Trump should be barred from doing business in New York. The hearings were concluded in January and Justice Engoron gave the verdict on Friday.

What did the court say?

According to a report by The New York Times, Justice Engoron criticised Trump and co-accused for refusing to admit wrongdoing for years.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,” he said. The judge also wrote: “Defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways,” the report added.

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Ultimately, Justice Engoron ordered Trump to pay more than $350 million plus interest and banned him from doing business in New York for three years. He also ruled that no bank chartered or registered in New York should lend to Trump and several of his businesses and entities for three years.

The former president, however, denied all the allegations. One of his lawyers, Alina Habba, called the verdict “a manifest injustice — plain and simple.” She added that “given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict,” the NYT report said.

Will Trump be able to pay the penalty?

According to a Forbes Magazine report, Trump’s total net worth is around $2.6 billion. The penalty imposed on the former president accounts for 14-17% of his wealth.

Apart from this, he is also supposed to pay $83 million in damages to writer E Jean Carroll after a jury, in January, found him guilty of defaming her when he denied raping her in the 1990s.

Moreover, Trump’s legal fee is also increasing as he is fighting four criminal cases at the federal and state level.

“These combined financial burdens – in excess of half a billion dollars – may constitute more cash than Mr Trump has available,” the BBC reported.

As Trump can’t take loans from banks registered or chartered in New York, he might have to sell off some of his assets. For instance, his stake in the Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social messaging platform, is estimated to be worth around $4 billion, the BBC added.

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