Donald Trump fined 4.9m and banned from running businesses in New York for three years

Donald Trump fined $354.9m and banned from running businesses in New York for three years

Published

3 months ago

February 17, 2024

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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.”

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”.

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.

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.

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.

US

Donald Trump trial star witness admits stealing from ex-US president’s company

Published

17 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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Donald Trump trial star witness admits stealing from ex-US president's company

A former lawyer for Donald Trump has admitted to jurors in the Republican’s hush money trial that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his then-boss’s company.

The landmark trial returned with defence cross-examination of Michael Cohen, whose testimony last week directly tied Trump to the alleged hush money scheme.

Defence lawyers have questioned Cohen for hours about his criminal history and past lies to paint him as a serial liar who is on a revenge campaign aimed at taking down Trump.

While being pressed by defence lawyer Todd Blanche, Cohen admitted he pocketed cash that was supposed to be reimbursement for a $50,000 payment he claimed he had shelled out to a technology firm.

But Mr Cohen actually gave the technology firm just $20,000, he said.

“So you stole from the Trump Organisation,” Mr Blanche asked.

“Yes, sir,” Mr Cohen replied.

Mr Cohen said he never paid the Trump Organisation back. He has never been charged with stealing from Trump’s company.

He is the last prosecution witness, and it is not yet clear whether Trump’s lawyers will call any witnesses, let alone the presumptive Republican presidential nominee himself.

Jurors could begin deliberating as soon as next week to decide whether Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first criminal trial of a former US president.

The charges stem from internal Trump Organisation records where payments to Cohen were marked as legal expenses, when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements for porn star Stormy Daniels’ hush money payment.

Trump has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers say there was nothing criminal about the Daniels deal or the way Cohen was paid.

“There’s no crime,” Trump told reporters after arriving at the courthouse on Monday. “We paid a legal expense. You know what it’s marked down as? A legal expense.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is expected to rest its case once Mr Cohen is off the stand, but prosecutors could call rebuttal witnesses if Trump’s lawyers put on witnesses of their own.

Judge Juan M Merchan has said he expects closing arguments to happen on 28 May.

Cohen is the prosecutors’ most important witness, but he is also vulnerable to attack.

The now-disbarred attorney has admitted on the witness stand to previously lying under oath and other falsehoods, many of which he claims were meant to protect Trump.

Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to various federal charges, including lying to Congress and a bank and engaging in campaign finance violations related to the hush money scheme.

And he has made millions of dollars off critical books about the former president, whom he regularly slams on social media in often profane terms.

US

P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway

Published

17 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway

Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.

Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing

The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.

The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.

The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.

It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.

Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.

Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”

Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.

50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”

He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.

California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.

The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.

‘Men who hurt women hate women’

He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…

“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”

The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.

‘Disingenuous words’

Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.

“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.

“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”

‘Leave god and mercy out of this’

US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”

It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.

Multiple claims

In March, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.

In April, Combs was named in a lawsuit that alleges his son sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.

Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.

The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.

Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.

US

Man jailed for life for murdering wife by burying her alive in Arizona

Published

21 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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Man jailed for life for murdering wife by burying her alive in Arizona

An Arizona man who buried his wife alive in a hand-dug grave near their home has been jailed for life.

Seven years after the killing, David Pagniano pleaded guilty to murdering his wife before his trial was due to start and allowed a judge to determine his sentence without a plea agreement.

The 62-year-old was handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole, meaning he will die in prison.

He was also sentenced on 9 May to 16-and-a-half years for kidnapping, forgery and fraud, according to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office.

“My office pursued the death penalty in this case because of the horrific circumstances surrounding the abduction and murder of a young mother,” County Attorney Dennis McGrane said in a statement.

Authorities said 39-year-old Sandra Pagniano vanished while she was in the process of divorcing her husband in May 2017.

They said the pair were separated but still living in the same home with their two young daughters.

Ms Pagniano’s body was found bound and gagged in packing tape inside a grave in a rural area north of Prescott.

The county medical examiner’s office confirmed she had been buried alive.

Victim may have been conscious for up to five minutes

Officials said evidence showed she vigorously struggled while she was in the grave and may have been conscious for up to five minutes.

In addition, mobile phone evidence showed Pagniano was in the gravesite area days before his wife went missing and the night of the kidnapping.

Forensic examination of notes revealed they were fake

Detectives recovered two notes that were filed in the divorce case following Mrs Pagniano’s disappearance, purportedly written by her.

The notes said she was leaving her husband and giving him her vehicles, house and custody of their children.

But authorities said a forensic examination of the notes revealed they were written by Pagniano.

A grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder after his wife’s body was discovered in a remote area 10 miles (16km) northwest of the family home near Prescott in north-central Arizona.