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Former US president Donald Trump has been fined $354.9m (£281.6m) after a civil fraud trial in New York.

With interest included, he will have to hand over at least $453.5m (£359.9m).

The judge also banned Trump from running businesses in New York for three years. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr, received similar bans for two years.

Trump and the Trump Organisation cannot apply for loans from any New York financial institution for three years.

Judge Arthur Engoron had already ruled in an earlier judgment that the former president inflated his wealth on financial statements given to banks, insurers and other institutions to make deals and secure loans.

Following the fine, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to vent his anger, describing the decision as a “complete and total sham” and accused the judge and prosecutors of being “deluded, biased and crooked”.

He also claimed the judgment was “illegal” and “unAmerican”.

Later, in a statement made outside his Mar-a-Largo estate, he claimed his company’s accounts were “great” and that he was the victim of a political “witch hunt”, which he blamed on President Joe Biden.

“It is a witch hunt against his [Biden’s] political opponent the likes of which our country has never been seen before,” he said.

“You see it in Third World countries, but you don’t see it here.

“If I weren’t running [for president] none of this stuff would ever happen – none of these lawsuits would have happened – I would have had a nice life. But I enjoy this life for a different reason.”

He also said he planned to appeal.

Alina Habba, his lawyer, said after the hearing that the ruling was a “manifest injustice… plain and simple”.

She said in a statement: “It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically fuelled witch hunt that was designed to ‘take down Donald Trump,’ before Letitia James ever stepped foot into the Attorney General’s office.”

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Trump: ‘They don’t like me running’

New York Attorney General Letitia James sought $370m (£294m) and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state in the civil fraud case.

Such a huge penalty could leave Trump’s real estate empire in tatters – an image that helped lead him to fame and the White House in 2016.

Judge Engoron also cancelled his prior ruling from September ordering the “dissolution” of companies that control areas of Trump’s real estate empire, saying this was no longer necessary because he is appointing an independent monitor and compliance director to oversee the businesses.

In the ruling, the judge wrote that Trump and the other defendants in the case “are incapable of admitting the error of their ways”.

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The judge called the fraud at the heart of the trial a “venial sin, not a mortal sin”, adding in his written verdict: “They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff.

“But the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. Instead, they adopt a ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ posture that the evidence belies.”

Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump were each ordered to pay $4m (£3.1m) by the judge.

An aerial view of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. New York Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach was central to the case. Pic: AP

FILE ...Trump Tower is shown in this photo, in New York, March 21, 2023. New York Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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Trump Tower is one of the ex-president’s many properties. Pic: AP

In response, Trump’s legal team claimed the testimony during the trial “proved there was no wrongdoing, no crime, and no victim” and added an appeal would be launched.

Ms Habba added: “Given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict and end this relentless persecution against my clients.

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear: this is not just about Donald Trump – if this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business.”

Last month Trump was also ordered by another judge in New York to pay $83.3m (£65.5m) in punitive damages to writer E Jean Carroll.

She launched a defamation case against the ex-president, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.

In this latest civil case, Ms James’ office estimated Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6bn.

State lawyers claimed Trump used the inflated numbers to get lower insurance premiums and favourable loan terms, saving at least $168m £133m) on interest alone.

Judge Arthur Engoron attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/Pool
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Judge Arthur Engoron at the closing arguments of the trial. Pic Reuters

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Donald Trump at the trial in New York

During the trial, Trump launched a six-minute diatribe from the witness stand and was ordered not to disparage court staff – but defied the judge and was fined $15,000 (£11,800) for twice violating the order.

The Republican presidential front-runner testified in November that his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business.

During closing arguments in January this year, he claimed the case was a “fraud on me”.

Before the trial, Judge Engoron ruled on James’ main claim, finding that Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent.

As punishment, the judge ordered some of his companies should be removed from his control and dissolved, but due to an appeal, another court has put that on hold.

Because it is a civil case, rather than criminal, there was no threat of Trump being jailed.

However, four of the investigations into the former president are on criminal grounds, including one in New York related to alleged hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump has also been charged in Florida over his handling of classified documents after leaving office and in Washington and Georgia for his bid to overturn his 2020 election loss.

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They are hurting but managing to find hope in ‘tomorrow’ – the residents who have lost everything in the LA fires

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They are hurting but managing to find hope in 'tomorrow' - the residents who have lost everything in the LA fires

They are the displaced and there are tens of thousands of them, 600 in an evacuation centre we visited.

From elderly people who fled without their medication, to pregnant mothers desperate to escape the smoke, they had nowhere else to go.

Jim Mayfield, who has lived in the northern suburb of Altadena for 50 years, wept as he told me his dogs, Monkey and Coca, were all he had left.

He said: “The fire was coming down, a ball of fire, it hadn’t made it to my house, but then I woke up and I seen it so I had to start evacuating.

“I had to grab my dogs, I didn’t have enough water and my house is burned down to the ground.”

Thousands of buildings have been burned to the ground
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Thousands of buildings have been burned to the ground since the fires in Los Angeles started

Sheila Kraetzel, another elderly resident, relived the sense of terror as homes were engulfed by the flames.

She said: “I smelt smoke, I was sleeping, and my dog alerted me that there was trouble.

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“When I looked outside, there were embers floating across my yard.

“My whole neighbourhood is gone.”

“It was a beautiful, unique place,” she added, smiling.

Thousands of firefighters have been working around the clock to contain the wind-driven fires in California
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Firefighters have been working around the clock to contain the wind-driven fires

Asked how she could smile, she fought back tears and replied: “Well, there’s tomorrow you know.”

How anyone could find hope amid the destruction we have witnessed here is beyond me.

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There are people handing out food and water, medical staff doing what they can. Volunteers have rallied from far and near.

Buildings destroyed in fires

One of them, Stephanie Porter, told me it felt “heavy” inside the centre.

“You walk through and see the despair on people’s faces, not knowing what their next step is, not knowing if their house is still standing,” she said.

“I had to take a few moments… and kind of cry, and then you go back to serve.

“It just breaks your heart.”

Three miles up the road, Altadena resembles a war zone, but residents have not been allowed to return.

When they finally do, they’ll discover there’s nothing left of the material lives they left behind.

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Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

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Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man and other 1960s hits in the legendary Sam & Dave duo, has died aged 89.

Moore, who influenced musicians including Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, died on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery, his publicist Jeremy Westby said.

No additional details were immediately available.

Moore was inducted with Dave Prater, who had died in a 1988 car crash, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

The duo, at the Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records, transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a frenzied stage show and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, including Hold On, I’m Comin’.

Sam Moore performs with Bruce Springsteen in 2006. Pic: Reuters
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Sam Moore performs with Bruce Springsteen in 2006. Pic: Reuters

Many of their records were written and produced by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter and featured the record label’s house band Booker T & the MGs.

Sam & Dave faded after their 1960s heyday but Soul Man hit the charts again in the late 1970s when the Blues Brothers, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, recorded it with many of the same musicians.

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Moore had mixed feelings about the hit becoming associated with the Saturday Night Live stars, remembering how young people believed it originated with the Blues Brothers.

Sam & Dave broke up in 1970 and neither had another major hit.

Moore later said his drug habit played a part in the band’s troubles and made record executives wary of giving him a fresh start.

Sam Moore with Justin Timberlake at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2015. Pic: AP
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Sam Moore with Justin Timberlake at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2015. Pic: AP

He married his wife Joyce in 1982, and she helped him get treatment for his addiction that he credited with saving his life.

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Moore spent years suing Prater after his former partner hired a substitute and toured as the New Sam & Dave.

He also lost a lawsuit claiming the pair of aging, estranged singers in the 2008 movie Soul Men was too close to the duo.

In another legal case, he and other artists sued multiple record companies and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 1993, claiming he had been cheated out of retirement benefits.

Despite his million-selling records, he said in 1994 his pension amounted to just 2,285 US dollars (£1,872), which he could take as a lump sum or in monthly payments of 73 US dollars (£60).

“Two thousand dollars for my lifetime?” Moore said at the time. “If you’re making a profit off of me, give me some too. Don’t give me cornbread and tell me it’s biscuits.”

Moore wrote Dole Man, based on Soul Man, for Republican Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign and was one of the few entertainers who performed at President Donald Trump’s inaugural festivities in 2017.

Eight years earlier, he objected to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s use of the song Hold On, I’m Comin’ during his campaign.

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LA fires: Data and videos reveal scale of ‘most destructive’ blazes in modern US history

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LA fires: Data and videos reveal scale of 'most destructive' blazes in modern US history

The fires that have been raging in Los Angeles County this week may be the “most destructive” in modern US history.

In just three days, the blazes have covered tens of thousands of acres of land and could potentially have an economic impact of up to $150bn (£123bn), according to private forecaster Accuweather.

Sky News has used a combination of open-source techniques, data analysis, satellite imagery and social media footage to analyse how and why the fires started, and work out the estimated economic and environmental cost.

More than 1,000 structures have been damaged so far, local officials have estimated. The real figure is likely to be much higher.

“In fact, it’s likely that perhaps 15,000 or even more structures have been destroyed,” said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at Accuweather.

These include some of the country’s most expensive real estate, as well as critical infrastructure.

Beachfront properties are left destroyed by the Palisades Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Beachfront properties in Malibu were destroyed by the Palisades fire. Pic: PA

Accuweather has estimated the fires could have a total damage and economic loss of between $135bn and $150bn.

“It’s clear this is going to be the most destructive wildfire in California history, and likely the most destructive wildfire in modern US history,” said Mr Porter.

“That is our estimate based upon what has occurred thus far, plus some considerations for the near-term impacts of the fires,” he added.

The calculations were made using a wide variety of data inputs, from property damage and evacuation efforts, to the longer-term negative impacts from job and wage losses as well as a decline in tourism to the area.

The Palisades fire, which has burned at least 20,000 acres of land, has been the biggest so far.

Sentinel
Sentinel satellite imagery of the Pacific Palisades from space, taken around 15 minutes after the Palisades Fire was first reported. The red indicates the area of land that had already burned. Pic: Sentinel Hub
Image:
Sentinel satellite imagery of the Pacific Palisades from space, taken around 15 minutes after the Palisades fire was first reported. The red indicates the area of land that had already burned. Pic: Sentinel Hub

Satellite imagery and social media videos indicate the fire was first visible in the area around Skull Rock, part of a 4.5 mile hiking trail, northeast of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighbourhood.

These videos were taken by hikers on the route at around 10.30am on Tuesday 7 January, when the fire began spreading.

At about the same time, this footage of a plane landing at Los Angeles International Airport was captured. A growing cloud of smoke is visible in the hills in the background – the same area where the hikers filmed their videos.

The area’s high winds and dry weather accelerated the speed that the fire has spread. By Tuesday night, Eaton fire sparked in a forested area north of downtown LA, and Hurst fire broke out in Sylmar, a suburban neighbourhood north of San Fernando, after a brush fire.

These images from NASA’s Black Marble tool that detects light sources on the ground show how much the Palisades and Eaton fires grew in less than 24 hours.

 

On Tuesday, the Palisades fire had covered 772 acres. At the time of publication of Friday, the fire had grown to cover nearly 20,500 acres, some 26.5 times its initial size.

The Palisades fire was the first to spark, but others erupted over the following days.

At around 1pm on Wednesday afternoon, the Lidia fire was first reported in Acton, next to the Angeles National Forest north of LA. Smaller than the others, firefighters managed to contain the blaze by 75% on Friday.

Fires map

On Thursday, the Kenneth fire was reported at 2.40pm local time, according to Ventura County Fire Department, near a place called Victory Trailhead at the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

This footage from a fire-monitoring camera in Simi Valley shows plumes of smoke billowing from the Kenneth fire.

Sky News analysed infrared satellite imagery to show how these fires grew all across LA.

The largest fires are still far from being contained, and have prompted thousands of residents to flee their homes as officials continued to keep large areas under evacuation orders. It’s unclear when they’ll be able to return.

“This is a tremendous loss that is going to result in many people and businesses needing a lot of help, as they begin the very slow process of putting their lives back together and rebuilding,” said Mr Porter.

“This is going to be an event that is going to likely take some people and businesses, perhaps a decade to recover from this fully.”


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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