Former President Donald Trump returns from a lunch break at Manhattan criminal court as jury selection continues in New York, NY on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
Jabin Botsford | Reuters
The New York Attorney General’s Office on Friday effectively asked a judge to invalidate it The bond is worth $175 million the former president posted Donald Trump to secure a much larger monetary damages award in his civil case business fraud when he appealed the verdict.
The AG’s Office said in a filing that Trump and the other defendants in the case failed to demonstrate there was enough identifiable collateral to secure the bond for judgment in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The filing notes that the collateral Trump used to obtain the bonds, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, is “a small insurance company that is not authorized to underwrite business in New York and is therefore not authorized to The state’s insurance department, which regulates it, had never written a surety bond before.” in New York or for the preceding two years in any other jurisdiction and had a total policyholder surplus of only $138 million.”
The filing opposes Trump and KSIC’s joint motion to justify the insurance company as the surety company holding the bonds.
Attorneys for AG Letitia James asked Judge Arthur Engoron to order Trump and the other defendants to post a replacement bond within seven days of ruling on the matter. James’ lawsuit against Trump resulted in a large civil judgment against him.
The bond dispute hearing will take place on Monday.
Engoron in February found Trump, the Trump Organizations and other defendants liable for fraud, saying they improperly inflated the value of real estate assets for years with the goal of raising Trump’s net worth. Those actions in turn help the company get better loan terms and other financial benefits.
Trump has personally been ordered to pay $454 million in damages, an amount that is growing every day with interest. He is appealing the verdict.
Trump is required under New York law to post a bond to secure the verdict as he appeals the decision.
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