NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump on Monday posted a $175 million bond to prevent New York authorities from seizing his assets.
The deal averts financial disaster for Trump, who will be spared from paying a $454 million penalty on his civil fraud case while he appeals the penalty, The New York Times reported.
The bond came from Knight Specialty Insurance Company, a California company, according to the newspaper. The firm essentially promised the court that it would cover the judgment against Trump if he lost his appeal and failed to pay his penalty.
The bond was necessary to prevent New York Attorney General Letitia James from taking legal steps to take over his properties and assets, according to The Washington Post.
James has accused Trump of fraudulently inflating his net worth by as much as $2 billion and a judge ruled in her favor, the Times reported.
A spokesperson for James declined to comment, according to the newspaper.
The former president secured the bond after a New York appeals court last week granted his request to lower the amount from $454 million, according to the newspaper. He was awarded the lower bond on the condition that he post it within 10 days, the Post reported.
Otherwise, Trump would have been forced to post the full amount, which his attorneys called a “practical impossibility.”
Late last year, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization and two former executives were liable for using illegal tactics to knowingly cheat business partners, the Post reported. The tactics were used to increase the company’s profits and savings, according to the newspaper.
The trial lasted 10 weeks.
Trump had been unable to post the entire $454 million bond because 30 surety companies he consulted with declined to accept his real estate as collateral, the Post reported. The companies would only take liquid assets as collateral, according to the newspaper.
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