Trump wins appeal canceling $500 million fraud penalty in New York
US President Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court has overturned a fine of more than 500 million dollars imposed on Donald Trump in the real estate fraud case, according to the court ruling.
The lawsuit in this case was filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in September 2022. The prosecution brought seven charges against Trump, including fraud, forgery of documents, and false financial statements.
At the beginning of 2024, the court ruled that the Trump Organization had inflated the value of its real estate to obtain more favorable loans. Trump was fined 355 million dollars, and with penalties, the amount exceeded half a billion. In addition, he and his two sons were banned for three years from holding executive positions in any companies in the state of New York.
The Appellate Division in its ruling stated that the forced collection of nearly half a billion dollars was an "excessive punishment" that violated the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution. At the same time, the conviction itself and the restrictions on Trump's and his sons' business activities remain in force.
After Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election, all criminal cases against him were effectively suspended.
Other Trump scandals
In April 2024, a trial began against Donald Trump over the concealment of payments to Stormy Daniels. It became the first criminal case in US history against a former president.
According to Daniels, she met Trump in 2006 at a charity golf tournament and had a secret affair with him at a time when his wife Melania had just given birth. In 2016, the actress threatened to reveal the details but received hush money from Trump's representatives. The very fact of such an agreement is not a criminal offense in the US, but investigators believe that campaign funds may have been used for the payments, and attempts to conceal these expenses formed the basis of the criminal prosecution.
On May 30, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records related to the Daniels payments, which could have harmed his 2016 campaign. Twelve jurors concluded that Trump was guilty on all 34 counts. Each of these charges carried a penalty of up to four years in prison.
