Donald Trump's civil fraud trial opens; business empire at risk

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Oct 2023 08:44

Trump has expressed his intention to attend the trial scheduled to begin on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump reacts to supporters during a commit to caucus rally, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in Ottumwa, Iowa. (AP/Charlie Neibergall)

Donald Trump faces a new legal challenge as a civil fraud trial against him and his two sons commences in New York. This trial puts the former President's business empire at risk while he campaigns for a return to the White House amid four other pending criminal cases.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his sons committed fraud by overvaluing the Trump Organization's assets.

Trump has expressed his intention to attend the trial, scheduled to begin on Monday.

"I'm going to Court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "This whole case is a sham!!!"

In addition to this civil case, Trump also faces several major criminal proceedings in the months ahead.

He is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Washington on March 4, where he faces charges related to attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Afterward, Trump will face criminal hush money charges in a New York state court, and he is also accused of mishandling classified documents in a Florida federal court following his departure from office.

Additionally, he will confront state charges in Georgia, where prosecutors accuse him of unlawfully attempting to influence the 2020 election results in his favor.

In the New York civil case, Judge Engoron determined that Donald Trump, his two eldest sons, and other Trump Organization executives were involved in a scheme where they provided false information to tax collectors, lenders, and insurers.

This scheme inflated the value of their properties by an estimated $812 million to $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021.

Consequently, the judge took the significant step of revoking the business licenses that allowed the Trump Organization to operate certain properties in New York.

This legal pressure could potentially lead to Trump losing control over some of his company's flagship properties, including the iconic Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, has alleged that Donald Trump's own apartment in his Manhattan building, Trump Tower, was fraudulently overvalued and listed as three times larger than its actual size.

Additionally, another Manhattan property, located at 40 Wall Street, was allegedly overvalued by an amount ranging from $200 million to $300 million in financial disclosures.

Furthermore, James' complaint includes Trump's luxury Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which was the site of the classified documents controversy, as well as several other Trump Organization golf clubs.

In total, she is seeking $250 million in penalties and aims to remove Trump and his sons from their positions in the management of the family's business empire.