Donald Trump Case: Judge Rules Ex-POTUS Committed Major Fraud

Donald Trump and his adult sons are found liable for fraud as a New York judge found that they provided false financial statements for around a decade. This is a big win for New York Attorney General Letitia James and yet another legal defeat for the Republican presidential frontrunner.

Judge Arthur Engoron sided with James's motion for summary judgment and found Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and others, "to be liable as a matter of law for persistent violations" of New York state law. The judge said in his decision that he found that the Trump family provided to lenders and insurers false financial statements for around a decade and that they and their associates repeatedly engaged in fraud.

James accused Trump of inflating the values of his businesses and properties, from his golf courses to his hotels and homes, including Mar-a-Lago. She sought "$250 million in damages, a ban on the Trumps from serving as officers of a business in New York, and to stop the company from engaging in a business transaction for five years."

According to CNN, Judge Engoron wrote in his decision that he found that the former president inflated "the value of his triplex apartment at Trump Tower by three times its size, resulting in an overvaluation of between $114 million to $207 million."

"A discrepancy of this order of magnified, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud," wrote the judge in his decision. He then blasted Trump, writing, "Exacerbating defendants' obstreperous conduct is their continued reliance on bogus arguments, in papers and oral argument."

He then added, "In defendants' world: rent-regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party's lies." The judge finally told the Trumps, "That is a fantasy world, not the real world."

Donald Trump Insists He Did Nothing Wrong After Losing New York Fraud Case

According to the Associated Press, the Trumps did not take the decision well, with Trump attorney Alina Habba saying that they will be appealing the decision. She called it "an affront to our legal system" and "fundamentally flawed at every level."

Eric Trump reacted to the decision and said this was "an attempt to destroy my father and kick him out of New York." The younger Trump added, "Today, I lost all faith in the New York legal system." His father, meanwhile, insisted that he did nothing wrong despite the strong evidence that he committed fraud as was presented in court.

Donald Trump Opposes New Gag Order Over January 6 Case

Trump is facing a myriad of civil and criminal cases, including Jack Smith's broad investigation that includes his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 elections and January 6. Following Trump's recent threats, the special counsel asked the judge to impose a "narrowly tailored" order restricting Trump from making public statements that could "present a serious and substantial danger of prejudicing" the case.

ABC News reported that Trump's lawyers have submitted a filing in opposition to Smith's request. They called it "an affront to Trump's First Amendment rights" and accused Smith and his team of "having political motivations due to Trump's strong standing in the 2024 presidential race."

The prosecutors only have until Saturday to respond. Should they do so, the judge will likely set oral arguments on the issue before ruling on whether or not the gag order should happen.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Losing: Trump guilty as N.Y. A.G. wins key ruling in fraud case - MSNBC