The former president’s lawyers said securing a bond for that amount is a “practical impossibility.”
Donald Trump has boasted that his assets include the “Mona Lisas” of real estate, but the former president risks losing some of those properties and unraveling his personal finances if he can’t satisfy the judgment in his $464 million civil fraud case by next week.
New York Attorney General Letitia James could ask the court to freeze Trump’s bank accounts, begin collecting rent from the tenants of his buildings, subpoena the former president for his personal financial information including tax returns, and request that the New York City Sheriff auction his trophy properties within months, according to multiple experts in the judgment collection industry who spoke with ABC News.
In a filing this week, Trump’s lawyers told the court that securing a bond for the full judgment was a “practical impossibility” after over 30 insurance companies declined to accept Trump’s cash and properties as collateral.
“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James said in an exclusive interview with ABC News last month.
However, the process of enforcing the massive judgment would likely require navigating a maze of limited liability companies, constant roadblocks by defense attorneys and technical challenges — slowing the process of collecting from a former president one of the largest judgments in New York history.
“You can’t just say, ‘It’s Trump Tower, so I’m going to take it,'” said Steven Yudin, a New York judgment enforcement attorney. “I’m sure Donald Trump does not own Trump Tower in his own name; you would have to unravel that.”
Last month, Judge Arthur Engoron determined that Trump, his sons, and their co-defendants engaged in a decade of fraudulent business by inflating the former president’s net worth. Engoron temporarily barred Trump and his sons from doing business in New York and imposed a judgment of $464 million for disgorgement and pre-judgment interest. Last month, A New York appellate judge denied Trump’s request for a delay of the enforcement of the judgment but temporarily lifted the court’s ban on Trump and his sons running New York companies.
On Thursday, Trump defended the financial strength of his company and said his decision about posting a bond would be “guided by the courts.”
“Billions of dollars of value, billions of dollars in properties, but they’d like to take the cash away, so I can’t use it on the campaign,” Trump said, though his campaign has largely used funds from donors.
In a statement to ABC News, Trump’s attorney Chris Kise described James’ most recent filing in the case – where she suggested Trump secure multiple smaller bonds or put up his properties with the court – as a “brazen abuse of power.”
“The Attorney General’s latest filing demonstrates her continued willingness to misrepresent the facts and misconstrue applicable law in her political crusade against President Trump,” Kise said.
What happens if Trump can’t get a bond?
If Trump and his co-defendants are unable to pay the full balance of the judgment in an account with the court, secure a bond, or consent to have his buildings held by the court by Monday, the New York Attorney General could ask the court to enforce the $464 million judgment.
