A New York judge ordered Donald Trump and his organization to pay $364 million in penalties on Friday for allegedly inflating property prices while applying for a loan.
“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on patholigcal,” New York Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in the court filing. “They are accused of inflating asset values to make more money. The documets prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways.”
Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that if Trump and his company weren’t charged that they were “likely to continue their fraudulent ways”. Trump and his co-defendants “failed to accept responsibility” according to Engoron and that experts who testified on the behalf of Trump “simply denied reality”.
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and his organization created more than 200 false valuations to inflate his net worth by billions of dollars between 2011 and 2021, with the goal of getting better business, insurance and banking deals, NPR reported. Trump argued that his estimates were actually conservative estimates and that he relied on others, including an accounting firm, to come up with the numbers in the filings.
New York Attorney General Letitia James praised the decision and said that “justice has been served”.
“This is a tremendous victory for this state, the nation, and for everyone who believes that we must play by the same rules-even former presidents” James added in the statement.
The ruling also means that Trump and his co-defendants’ will have limited ability to do business in the state, and that Trump will not be able to serve as an officer or director of any New York business or apply for loans for three years, and his sons will not be able to serve in those roles for two years, NPR reported.
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary slammed New York after the the decision to charge Trump for a crime that he said is no different from what every other investor does, adding that there’s “no rationale for it”, The Hill reported.
O’Leary said that following the decision he will no longer be investing in the state. O’Leary added that he isn’t the only person that is refusing to invest in New York going forward.
“We’ve very worried, every investor is worried because where is the victim? Who lost the money?” O’Leary asked Fox Business anchor Neil Cavuto. “This is some arbitrary decision a judge made. This policy…what does this say about the bar? About the legal bar in New York? Aren’t they going to question this judge? What is this?”
“I’m sorry her words fall on deaf ears to everybody,” O’Leary added. “There’s nothing she can say to justify this decision. And this has nothing to do with Trump. Forget about Trump, this is not a Trump situation, this is a New York problem”.
O’Leary isn’t the only one furious about the decision. Earlier this week it was announced that truckers are now beginning to boycott New York and the movement appears to be rapidly growing.
The movement appears to have been started by Conservative social media influencer Chicago Ray, who said that truckers would begin to stop making deliveries to New York City on Monday, The New York Post reported.
Ray also said that 95% of truckers stand with the former President and that they will “just go somewhere else”.
“It could shut New York City down,” Jenniefer Hernandez, a trucker who has joined the protest, said earlier this week.
Hernandez added that “if New York loses just 10% of the trucks that go in there, their prices are going to skyrocket on everything- from milk to eggs, to any type of goods that the consumer needs”.