Letitia Ann James New York AG says Trump organization has proven to the "art of the steal"

Letitia James: the New York state attorney general who brought down the Trump Organization.

Letitia Ann James is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2019, as the Attorney General of New York,

‘No one is above the law.’ Trump faces staggering fine for years of financial fraud.

"Donald Trump may have authored the ‘Art of the Deal,’ but in reality, he perfected the art of the steal," Letitia James.

James faced a barrage of personal attacks through the trial, but won a ‘tremendous victory’ in her highest-profile case to date.

Donald Trump committed incredible financial fraud. Now, he faces the consequences and must pay $463.9 million.

The end of Trump’s fraud trial marked the closing of the New York attorney general’s highest-profile case to date. Though a team of lawyers from her office led the case, James has been the public face of the trial since its start. Sitting behind Trump in court and sometimes casting meme-worthy, incredulous looks at Trump and his team, she has inevitably become a target of his vitriol inside and outside the courtroom.

Trump continued to rant and rave and scream at the cameras. 

Unfortunately, he continued to use the courtroom as a means to raise funds for his political campaign. Mr. Trump, unfortunately, built his empire on lies and Mr. Trump, unfortunately, fails to recognize what is happening in court, and that is we have demonstrated over and over again that he committed lies, fraud, and that his statements of financial condition, unfortunately, were inflated and were used to enrich himself, his family, and his company.

Mr. Trump may lie, but numbers don’t lie. The fact is that the judges already decided that he engaged and repeated in persistent acts of fraud.

And so, he can call me names, he can engage in distractions, but at the end of the day, at the end of the day, Mr. Trump, unfortunately, his entire empire was built on nothing but lies and on sinking sand.

So we continude to return to court. We continued to listen to the facts and the evidence. We continued to demonstrate to the general public that Mr. Donald Trump is not worth as much as he has indicated and that his statements of financial worth were used for nothing more than to benefit himself and his circle of friends and his family.

So I’m confident that we will be successful at the end of the day, and we’ll see this through no matter how long it takes. I’m sure that he will be back again and he will again attempt to distract each and every one of you, attempt to raise his voice and scream. 

But at the end of the day, justice will be served, and I’m confident that victory will be mine.  And so it was....as predicted❗😂😁

“Today, justice has been served. This is a tremendous victory for this state, this nation, and for everyone who believes that we all must play by the same rules — even former presidents.

“For years, Donald Trump engaged in massive fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization. While he may have authored the ‘Art of the Deal,’ our case revealed that his business was based on the art of the steal.

When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them. There simply cannot be different rules for different people.

“Now, Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.”

The decision issued by Justice Arthur F. Engoron grants the following relief:

Arthur F. Engoron is an American judge serving on the Manhattan Supreme Court since 2013. He is known for presiding over the New York civil investigation of the Trump Organization.

• Donald Trump and the other defendants are ordered to pay more than $450 million in total, which represents $363.8 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest;
• Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg, and Jeffrey McConney are each banned from serving as an officer or director of any New York company for three years;
• Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney are additionally banned from serving in a financial management role in any New York company for life;
• Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump are banned from serving as an officer or director of any New York company for two years;
• Donald Trump and his companies are banned from applying for loans from any New York bank or financial institution for three years;
• A new, Independent Director of Compliance role will be created at the Trump Organization to ensure the company establishes internal protocols and meets financial reporting obligations; and
• The current independent, external monitor will continue to oversee the company’s financial dealings and ensure this fraud cannot continue.

Following a three-year investigation, in September 2022, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, a number of Trump Organization companies, and senior executives for engaging in years of financial fraud and illegal conduct. In September 2023, before this trial began, Justice Engoron issued a ruling granting Attorney General James' motion for partial summary judgment, finding that Donald Trump and the defendants committed fraud by falsely inflating the value of his assets. Today’s decision and order that Donald Trump and the other individual defendants also engaged in illegal conduct and that relief against the defendants is necessary to prevent further fraudulent and illegal conduct comes after 11 weeks of trial.