Trump says he is worth several billion dollars, but much of it is tied up in his real estate holdings.
Donald Trump is hurtling toward a critical deadline in his most costly legal battle to date. If the former president doesn’t come up with a financial guarantee by Monday, New York’s attorney general can start the process of collecting on the more than $454 million Trump owes the state in a civil fraud lawsuit.
Trump’s lawyers are trying to stop that from happening. They have asked a court to put collection efforts on hold while he appeals the verdict.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee tried getting a bond for the full amount, which would have stopped the clock on collection during his appeal and ensured the state got its money if he were to lose.
But more than 30 underwriters said no, Trump’s lawyers told the court. They said getting a bond for such a large sum is “a practical impossibility.”
That’s raised the possibility that New York Attorney General Letitia James could start trying to enforce the judgment as soon as Monday.
Here’s a look at what that might look like, and what it would mean for Trump’s business empire. Could New York really seize Trump’s assets?
Yes. If Trump isn’t able to pay, the state “could levy and sell his assets, lien his real property and garnish anyone who owes him money,” Syracuse University Law Professor Gregory Germain said.
Potential targets could include properties such as his Trump Tower penthouse, Wall Street office building and golf courses. James’ office could also seek court permission to drain Trump’s bank accounts and investment portfolios, or sell off other assets like his planes, helicopters — or even his golf carts.
Seizing assets is a common legal tactic when someone can’t access enough cash to pay a civil penalty.
In a famous example, O.J. Simpson’s Heisman Trophy was seized and sold at auction to cover part of a $33.5 million wrongful death judgment. More recently, a city commissioner in Miami, Florida, fought to keep his home after a federal judge ordered it seized and auctioned off to help pay a $63.5 million judgment in a political retaliation case.
New York state seized three moving trucks in 1999 to help satisfy a $250,000 judgment against a company that ripped off customers. In 2006, the state seized a $342,000 investment account to cover part of a $2 million judgment against operators of illegal tire dumps.
