Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump [View all]
NEW YORK (AP) An appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling Thursday in New York state's lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth.
After finding that Trump engaged in fraud by flagrantly padding financial statements that went to lenders and insurers, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum has topped $515 million.
While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants business culture, the courts disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals courts ruling.
The court, which was split on the merits of the lawsuit and the lower courts fraud finding, dismissed the penalty Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the states highest court, the Court of Appeals.
https://www.wftv.com/news/appeals-court-throws/W6NOI4URMNFNHL46DV47SI7KHA/