Australian Atheists Forum

Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a state appeals court to put a stay on New York Attorney General Letitia James’ right to collect roughly $450 million in damages from the former president. Trump was found liable for defrauding insurance companies and banks by giving them falsely inflated values for his properties—which meant he saved hundreds of millions on insurance policies and loan interest. In a trial last fall, James’ office successfully convinced Judge Arthur Engoron that Trump had cheated those financial institutions out of at least $355 million, and with penalties and interest the award rose to $455 million.

Trump does not have that kind of money—at least not in cash. While the value of the various properties he owns can be pegged in the billions of dollars, a recent estimate found that he likely only had around $350 million on hand. On top of that, he has also been ordered to pay more than $85 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll, who, a federal court found, Trump repeatedly defamed by mocking her and denying her allegations that he had sexually assaulted her. Trump is appealing all these verdicts. But as those appeals work their way through the court system, Trump will need to post bonds in excess of what he owes if he hopes to avoid having to immediately fork over the money to the plaintiffs. In the Carroll case, that’s $91 million—which he has already successfully secured from an insurance company. But in the fraud case, the figure would balloon to an astronomical to $557 million.

According to a filing Monday by Trump’s attorneys, Trump has been unable to find anyone willing to fund such an enormous bond on his behalf. According to his lawyers, Trump has queried more than 30 financial firms—including what they describe as the world’s largest insurance company—but none have been willing to front the cash. Part of the trouble, according to the filing, is that while Trump has assets that are theoretically worth more than enough to be used as collateral to secure the bond, the bond companies have little interest in being stuck with his hard assets—a Trump golf course, say—were he to ultimately default.

Instead, these companies want cash or cash equivalents—and they would charge Trump 2 percent interest, which his lawyers estimate would tack on another $18 million in costs.

This is particularly problematic for Trump because without such a bond, James would be able to collect the damages starting next week, and it’s nearly impossible to raise that kind of cash in a week. As Trump’s attorneys note, it would require a fire sale of properties he owns. With potential buyers fully aware that he is desperate for cash, he would almost certainly have to sell at a significant discount.

So the going is likely to get rough for Trump as this plays out, and he’s likely to become more financially desperate with each passing day. That’s going to make him easy prey for interested lenders — and an easy mark for overseas interests eager to influence US policy.

Irrev-Black wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:18 pm Who is going to put in a bid?

So the going is likely to get rough for Trump as this plays out, and he’s likely to become more financially desperate with each passing day. That’s going to make him easy prey for interested lenders — and an easy mark for overseas interests eager to influence US policy.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/busine ... 5fdg9.html

Irrev-Black wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 6:24 pm Sobering!

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The highest level of contributions to the Trump 47 Committee – as the joint fundraising committee is known – is called “Ultra MAGA” and is designated for individuals who donate $814,600, the current limit that one person can currently donate to Trump 47.

The other levels include:

“Team Trump 2024” for those who donate $250,000.

“Team America First” for $100,000 contributions.

“Club 47” at $50,000.

“MAGA 24” at the $24,000 level.

In papers filed last week in Florida state court, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. argued that executives Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky made a series of costly mistakes that resulted in a long delay in the company’s going public and urged a judge to strip them of their shares in the company.

Moss and Litinsky sued Trump's company in Delaware Chancery Court in February, alleging that he was trying to dilute their shares by increasing the total number of authorized shares in the firm from 120 million to 1 billion.