Former US president Donald Trump sits with his attorneys inside the courtroom during civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James, at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on 2 October 2023.Former US president Donald Trump made a dramatic entrance before his trial began on Monday.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is accused by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating the value of his assets by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms. Alina Habba, a lawyer who has represented Trump, said before entering the courtroom:"We will continue to fight in hopes that there is some level of law and order.. Although my faith in the system is wary, I do have faith in Donald Trump."
"A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud," he said.Engoron cancelled business certificates for companies controlling pillars of Trump's empire - including Trump Tower and his golf clubs in New York - and said he would appoint receivers to oversee their dissolution.
James alleges Trump reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings by"grossly" inflating the values of his assets to get better deals from lenders and insurers.That included listing his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida as being worth up to $739 million even though deed restrictions capped it at $28 million, James said.