Attorney General James aims to take control of Trump’s assets to pay off $355M fine

New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that she is ready to take over Donald Trump’s assets, including 40 Wall Street, if he does not have enough money to cover the $355 million judgment against him in the recently concluded civil fraud case.

James made these comments in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday.

“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James told ABC News.

Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a $354.8 million fine, plus roughly $100 million in pre-judgment interest, against Trump for deceiving banks and lenders with inflated financial statements. Trump is appealing the ruling.

Syracuse University of Law professor Greg Germain told Newsweek that Trump has a strong argument regarding the attorney general seeking to punish for past use, rather than prevent future use. Engoron ruled that she did not show all the traditional elements of fraud.

Regardless, James expressed her confidence and mentioned she is already considering seizing Trump’s property.

“We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day,” James told ABC News, refuting Trump’s claims of a victimless crime during his testimony in November.

“Financial frauds are not victimless crimes. He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering,” James told ABC News. “If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents.”

Engoron’s ruling came after a jury last month ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her. Trump has also been ordered to pay $5 million to Carroll in a related trial.

A GoFundMe campaign to cover Trump’s $355 million judgment raised $84,000 in the first 24 hours and currently stands at over $741,000 as of Tuesday evening.

Information from the Associated Press as used in this report.