Donald Trump Runs Out of Time

Donald Trump could start seeing his bank accounts frozen and his properties seized as the time to put down a guarantee payment related to his New York civil fraud penalty expires.

The former president was fined $355 million, rising to $454 million with interest, by New York Judge Arthur Engoron after ruling Trump filed fraudulent financial statements for years which inflated the value of his assets.

After the ruling was finalized, Trump was given a 30-day deadline to either pay the fine, or come up with a cash bond as he appeals the decision, which expires on Monday, March 25. By posting the bond, Trump would be ensuring that New York state would still get the money stemming from the fraud civil case even if he loses his appeal.

If the cash bond is not paid, New York Attorney General Letitia James could begin the process of seizing his properties and assets in order to cover the payment.

Trump’s lawyers previously said it is a “practical impossibility” for the former president to come up with the cash needed to post bond while trying to argue that the court should accept a $100 million bond instead. In a recent post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that he had around $500 million in available cash, but wants to use that money to fund his 2024 presidential campaign.

If Trump does not put down any cash by the end of Monday, James’ office will not immediately begin seizing his properties. Instead, the New York Attorney General will likely take steps to freeze Trump’s bank accounts in order to deliver the cash or other forms of payments to her New York office.

It is unlikely that the decision to freeze Trump’s account, which will be made by Engoron, will produce enough available cash to come up with the mammoth payment.

James could then take steps to seize his properties, which she will then liquidate to come up with the money. James has already filed court filings in Westchester County, where Trump’s Seven Springs golf course and Bedminster estate are located, suggesting she is preparing to take control of these assets.

Trump’s legal team has been contacted for comment via email.

Other property and assets that James could seize include his luxury apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower 40 Wall Street office building, and even his personal plane known as Trump Force One.

However, it is likely to be a long-drawn-out process before James is actually able to seize any of Trump’s properties.

For a start, James would first need to go back to a court to get a judge’s approval to allow her access to Trump’s property. James would also need to file a lien against Trump’s properties, which would prevent the former president from selling off or borrowing against a property without paying the state of New York first.

A court would then appoint someone to sell the property, who would then hand over the money from the sale to New York.

Trump also does not outright own many of the buildings in his real estate empire, and instead they are held by limited liability companies which are under his control. Trump could argue that he does not have complete authority to sign over these assets, which would mean James’ office would need a court order requiring him to do so.

“Bonds people do not like to use property as collateral because it’s hard to liquify the asset if there’s a default,” Adam Leitman Bailey, a real estate attorney, told The Guardian.

“And for the attorney general this isn’t so easy either. It’s going to be very difficult to seize his properties. It takes a lot of work.”

James is not limited to seizing Trump’s New York properties, or just the ones which she mentioned had false or misleading valuations in the former president’s financial statements.

James is unlikely to be able to seize Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, as Florida law prevents a person’s main residence from being removed from their control in legal disputes.

“If Mar-a-Lago is his primary residence, that might preclude her from going after Mar-a-Lago,” Diana Florence, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, told Politico.

In a post on Truth Social on the eve of his payment deadline expiring, Trump hit out at Engoron and James while accusing them of “election interference.”

“Why should a Crooked, highly political New York Judge, Arthur Engoron, working in concert and coordination with an even more Corrupt Attorney General, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, his Puppet Master, and the White House, be allowed to take away, and sell off, very successful properties and assets that took me years to zone, build and nurture into some of the best of their kind anywhere in the World – WHEN I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG,” Trump wrote.

“These Radical Left Lunatics and Communists ask me to pay a ridiculous and completely unheard of fine of over $450,000,000 only because they saw a similar amount in my bank account. I had intended to use much of that hard earned money on running for President. They don’t want me to do that — ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

Newsweek approached Attorney General Letitia James for comment.