Donald Trump was found guilty of fraud

A New York state court found the former US president guilty of deliberately overstating the assets of his family holding Trump Organization in order to illegally save on loans and insurance.

Former US President Donald Trump is guilty of fraud related to the illegal overestimation of the value of his assets and the size of his fortune in order to obtain loans on more favorable terms. This decision was made on Tuesday, September 26, by Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York State Court on a civil lawsuit filed in September 2022 by the state Attorney General Letitia James against the former head of state and his three eldest children: Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. To date, the lawsuit against Ivanka Trump has been dropped.

The court's decision of September 26 is almost a complete defeat for Trump and reduces the main trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 2, mainly to the question of the amount of compensation for damages, which must now be paid to the defendant, the Reuters news agency states.

Accusations against Donald Trump
According to court documents, between 2011 and 2021, the Trump Organization family holding overstated the value of its assets by billions of dollars "to secure loans and insurance contracts on favorable terms or to keep them." Such frauds allowed the defendants to receive "hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of illegally saved funds and illegal profits," the papers continue.

Prosecutor General Letitia James requested a fine of $ 250 million for Trump (in terms of about 235 million euros). The former head of state does not face a prison term in this civil suit. Trump himself calls all the charges against him political and aimed at preventing him from running in the presidential election of 2024.