New York Attorney General takes initial step to prepare to seize Trump assets
By Kara Scannell, CNN
(CNN) — The New York attorney general’s office has filed judgments in Westchester County, the first indication that the state is preparing to try to seize Donald Trump’s golf course and private estate north of Manhattan, known as Seven Springs.
State lawyers entered the judgments with the clerk’s office in Westchester County on March 6, just one week after Judge Arthur Engoron made official his $464 million decision against Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
The decision against Trump and the difficulty the former president is having securing a bond while he appeals the verdict strikes directly at Trump’s image as a billionaire as he attempts to raise more cash for both his legal bills and third run for the White House.
Entering a judgment would be the first step a creditor would take to attempt to recover property. Additional steps, such as putting liens on assets or moving to foreclose on properties, or taking other actions in court would follow, if the asset is going to be seized.
The judgment is already entered in New York city where Trump’s properties including Trump Tower, his penthouse at Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, his hotel abutting Central Park, and numerous apartment buildings are located.
Judgments have not been entered in Florida counties including Miami or Palm Beach where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property and the Trump National Doral Golf Club and resort are located or Cook County, Illinois, where Trump’s hotel in Chicago is located, according to a review of records Thursday by CNN.
Trump now has four days to satisfy the judgment or sway an appeals court to allow him to post a smaller amount or defer posting the payment until after the appeal.
In a new Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that putting up the money is “VERY EXPENSIVE” and said it was “not possible for bonding companies to do in such a high amount.”
The attorney general’s office will be allowed to file a written response to Trump’s claims, a New York appeals court said Friday.
The process to seize assets would not be quick or easy. Trump has structured his business by setting up limited liability companies for nearly every property or asset – over 300 in total – which ultimately are controlled by his trust.
“They are complexly organized and he is not on paper the owner and therefore a judgment against him would not be executable directly against certain properties. Sorting this out is not going to be simple and it’s not going to be quick,” said Nikos Passas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University.
“In the meantime, she could also obtain bank levies and go after the bank assets. She could put liens on properties. There are all kinds of things that she’s able to do in an effort to collect,” Passas said.
“All this is completely undermining the brand, which he uses for the most part for making any kind of money around the world not just the United States,” Passas said. “In the end I think this could very much mean the end of Trump business in New York and not only – it could spell trouble in other jurisdictions too.”
Trump attorneys push back on AG’s bond ideas
Separately, Trump’s lawyers pushed back Thursday on several of the suggestions the New York attorney general’s office made about how he can pay bond.
That includes the idea that Trump could get several underwriters to secure bonds totaling the judgment – saying it would still require Trump to post half a billion dollars in cash or stock – money he doesn’t have.
Trump’s legal team argued in the filing that the New York attorney general’s office shouldn’t be able to challenge their claims.
If no arrangement is met, New York Attorney General Letitia James has said she will take steps to seize assets.
The attorney general’s office on Wednesday said that it’s common for large companies to post billion-dollar bonds and suggested Trump should have posted real estate with the court.
“The suggestion is both impractical and unjust. The Attorney General cites no New York case law to support this contention. In any event, from the perspective of risk, the Attorney General’s proposal of a ‘court-appointed officer’ to ‘hold real estate’ is functionally equivalent to what Supreme Court has already imposed through the requirement of a court-appointed monitor to oversee Defendants’ business operations,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Trump’s lawyers also said to be forced to sell properties at a fire sale would cause irreparable injury because they could not later recover the property if they were to win an aspect of the appeal.
“By demanding an undertaking in the full amount of the judgment in order to appeal, the Attorney General and Supreme Court have sought to impose a patently unreasonable, unjust, and unconstitutional (under both the Federal and New York State Constitutions) bond condition,” they wrote.
Judge gives monitor expansive duties including review of efforts to obtain bond
Thursday, Engoron expanded the role of the monitor overseeing the Trump Organization to include more expansive oversight of Trump’s real estate business’ internal financial practices.
Engoron also ordered the Trump Organization to supply detailed information to the monitor about its efforts to obtain bonds to cover judgments.
“The Trump Organization shall inform the monitor, in advance, of any efforts to secure surety bonds, including any financial disclosures requested or required, any information provided in response to such requests, any representations made by Trump Organization in connection with securing such bonds any personal guarantees made by any of the defendants, and any obligations of the Trump Organization required by the surety,” the judge ordered.
Engoron laid out a timeline of certain steps the Trumps must take within the next month, including providing the monitor, retired Judge Barbara Jones, with full access to its day-to-day financial operations.
In two months, the judge said, the monitor is ordered to submit a report “describing her assessment of the Trump Organization’s internal controls and shall recommend proper internal controls for the Trump Organization.”
He also put the Trumps on notice that he may order them to implement the monitor’s recommendations.
Engoron also empowered the monitor to have copies of the Trump Organization’s monthly bank and brokerage statements, be notified in advance of any transfers above $5 million, be provided information about the creation or dissolution of business entities, and be informed in advance of any debt financing.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
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