What Happens If Trump Can’t Get a Half-Billion-Dollar Bond? – The New York Times
Trump Civil Fraud Case
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Donald J. Trump’s lawyers told a judge that their client could not come up with the collateral needed to stave off efforts to collect a $454 million judgment. He has six days left.
Kate Christobek and
It’s crunchtime for Donald J. Trump.
By Monday, March 25, the former president must secure an appeal bond for roughly half a billion dollars in his civil fraud case in New York, and his ability to do so was called into question this week.
In a court filing, Mr. Trump’s lawyers revealed that he had been unable to secure an appeal bond despite “diligent efforts” that included approaching about 30 bond companies.
While Mr. Trump this month managed to post a $91.6 million bond in his defamation case against the writer E. Jean Carroll, securing the deal at the 11th hour from a large insurance company, he lacks the assets needed to secure the far bigger guarantee for the fraud case.
If he cannot produce the bond in time, Mr. Trump faces the possibility of financial disaster and humiliation. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, who brought the fraud case, would be entitled to collect the $454 million and could seek to seize Mr. Trump’s New York properties or freeze his bank accounts.
And Mr. Trump’s money problems spread well beyond New York. As the presumptive Republican nominee for president, he is facing increased pressure to raise money to fund his campaign, lagging behind his opponent, President Biden, in fund-raising.
In recent days, The New York Times has received many questions about Mr. Trump’s financial woes. Here are answers to several:
Ms. James took Mr. Trump, his company and his adult sons to trial last fall, accusing them of fraudulently inflating the value of his golf clubs, office buildings and other properties to the tune of about $2 billion.
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