Letitia James live tweets $114,000 daily interest charges on Trump’s $464m fraud ruling

 

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James is not letting former President Donald Trump forget about the massive civil fraud judgment against him and his associates. She has been live tweeting the daily interest charges on the $464m ruling, which amount to more than $114,000 per day.

 

The judgment, issued by New York County Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on February 16, 2024, found that Trump, his sons Donald Jr and Eric, former Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney, and several companies behind Trump’s brand-building properties, had fraudulently inflated their net worth and assets over a decade to secure favorable financing terms[^1^][1] [^2^][2].

 

The court ordered the defendants to pay back $364m in ill-gotten gains, plus at least $100m in interest, to the state of New York. The interest rate is 9 percent, which means that the total amount owed is increasing by $114,553.04 every day[^1^][1].

 

James, who led the three-year investigation and 11-week trial that resulted in the judgment, has been posting the exact figures on her Twitter account every 24 hours, along with a link to the court’s decision. On Saturday, February 24, she tweeted: “+$114,553.04 = $464,805,336.70” [^3^][3].

 

Trump, who delivered a keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland on the same day, has denied any wrongdoing and has filed a notice of appeal. However, he has not posted a bond, which he would need to do to stop the collections on the judgment[^1^][1].

 

James told ABC News last week that she is prepared to seize Trump’s assets, including his 40 Wall Street skyscraper, if he does not have the funds to pay off the judgment[^2^][2]. “We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day,” she said[^2^][2].

 

James also dismissed Trump’s claims that the case lacked any victims and that it would drive away business from New York. She said that financial frauds are not victimless crimes and that they affect the integrity of the markets and the trust of the public[^2^][2]. “If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents,” she said[^2^][2].