Trump Tower may be seized if fine not paid
DONALD TRUMP’S flagship Trump Tower in Manhattan could be seized if the former president does not honour a hefty fine and a ban on him operating a business in the state, experts suggested.
Mr Trump, 77, was found liable for fraud and issued $355million (£280million) in fines by a New York judge on Friday, dealing a major financial and reputational blow to the real estate tycoon as he seeks to regain the presidency.
Judge Arthur Engoron’s sweeping verdict came after a months-long civil trial featuring testimony from Mr Trump and his three eldest children.
He found that Mr Trump’s eponymous company had submitted “blatantly false” information to obtain more favourable loans.
Judge Engoron’s ruling bans Mr Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York company for three years or from seeking loans in the state. He meted out a similar two-year ban on Mr Trump’s two adult sons, Donald Jr and Eric, who held senior roles in the Trump Organisation, and leaving it essentially rudderless.
His daughter, Ivanka, was removed as a defendant in the case by an appeals court which found the allegations against her were too old because she left the company in 2017.
Mr Trump’s lawyers said they would appeal against the “egregious verdict”, but experts suggested there was little recourse to avoid the hefty financial penalties, which are essentially due immediately. The former president’s New York portfolio includes the goldplated Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, 40 Wall Street and the Trump Park Avenue hotel, where Bob Dylan met The Beatles for the first time.
“The business, in many respects, is still owned by the family, but it is out of the family’s control,” said Will Thomas, a business law professor at the University of Michigan.
If Mr Trump resists payment, the judgment would take effect immediately and the state could begin seizing Mr Trump’s assets, Mr Thomas said. He added that relocating his business to a new state would also be more difficult for Mr Trump following the judgment.
Judge Engoron had initially ordered the dissolution of much of Mr Trump’s New York holdings, but pulled back in his ruling on Friday, leaving that question to an independent monitor.
The company’s financial reporting will be overseen by the independent monitor and a compliance director.
Mr Trump vented his fury in an angry address from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, in which he framed the case as “corrupt” and a politically motivated “witch hunt”. He has not indicated who could lead his company should the ruling be upheld. But he is known to prefer keeping his business within his family’s hands and could turn to Ivanka, who previously held a senior position in the company, or her husband Jared Kushner, who also has real estate experience. Mr Trump could even consider turning to his wife Melania to lead the company.
“This is going to be a business that will look very different,” Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, told the Washington Post.
“It won’t be a family-run business. It can be a family-owned business, but it won’t be a family-run business for the next several years.”
Failure to meet $355m penalty could mean tycoon having to forfeit prized Manhattan skyrise