CNN —
A New York judge found Donald Trump and his adult sons liable for fraud and canceled the Trump Organization’s business certification, a shocking ruling that poses an existential threat to the former president’s financial empire as he runs for a second term in the White House.
Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling on Monday is a complete rejection of Trump’s arguments that he didn’t inflate the values of his golf courses, hotels, homes at Mar-a-Lago and Seven Springs on financial statements.
“In defendants’ world: rent-regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” the judge wrote.
“That is a fantasy world, not the real world,” Engoron said.
The ruling came in response to the lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages, a ban on the Trumps from serving as officers of a business in New York and to stop the company from engaging in business transactions for five years.
A trial is expected to begin next week on the amount of damages owed, and the full breadth of Engoron’s ruling – or how it will play out – remains unclear.
The judge canceled the business certifications of the Trump entities that are defendants in...
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