Trump becomes US President with debt of over half billion dollars - CBS
The newly elected President of the US, Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
The newly elected US President, Donald Trump, has accumulated a debt of over 500 million dollars. This debt arises from a civil fraud case in which the court has imposed daily penalties on the politician, reports CBS News.
CBS News reminded that in February 2024, a New York state court ordered Trump, his two sons, and the former CEO of his company to pay 364 million dollars in ill-gotten profits, as well as millions of dollars in interest for past years. The amount, which at that time totaled 464 million dollars, continued to accrue over 114 thousand dollars in daily interest. The court's decision is currently under appeal.
Letitia James, the spokesperson for the New York Attorney General, noted that as of December 29, 2024, the total debt exceeded 500 million dollars, and as of Thursday, January 16, it stood at more than 502 million dollars.
Trump, who personally owes about 490 million dollars of this sum, is seeking a delay from the Appeals Division of the First Department of the New York Court. During hearings in September, at least two of the five appellate judges expressed skepticism regarding the ruling for such a payout. One of them described it as huge and alarming.
However, while the defendants await a ruling from the panel, expected in the early part of this year, interest in the case continues to grow.
Typically, the court publishes decisions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and the case involving the elected president was not among those released on January 16.
"That means Trump will likely be sworn in as president on Monday with a debt to the state of New York larger than the combined proposed 2025 budgets for New York's sixth and seventh largest cities, Albany and New Rochelle," notes CBS News.
Criminal cases and fines
On February 24, 2024, a New York state court ordered Donald Trump to officially pay $454.2 million. The decision was made to manipulate his net worth in a civil fraud case brought by the New York Attorney General.
Trump opposed the debt and the case in which the judge concluded that he and his company manipulated electronic spreadsheets provided to accountants to extract inflated figures, which were then given to banks and insurers. As a result, Judge Arthur Engoron determined that the politician and his company secured more favorable terms on loans and insurance agreements than they would have otherwise obtained.
According to the judge's findings, the total amount they could owe the state as damages equal the amount they gained through this scheme, plus interest.
During the trial in 2023, Trump was called to court, where he blamed his employees and external accountants, but claimed that his financial records were accurate. He argued that his company had neither overvalued his assets and net worth nor undervalued them.
In addition to the half-billion-dollar civil case in New York, Trump also owes more than $88 million to writer E. Jean Carroll, after juries in 2023 and 2024 found him guilty of sexual assault and defamation.
The newly elected US president denies all accusations and is appealing in all three cases.
