NEW YORK: A New York judge has ordered former US president Donald Trump, his eldest sons and associates to pay over $350m after they were found guilty of intentionally committing financial fraud over the course of a decade.
According to the verdict written by Judge Arthur Engoron the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.
NY judge Engoron has barred Donald Trump and two other executives from serving as officers or directors of any corporation or entity in New York for three years, a big blow for ex-president who earned his reputation as successful real estate developer
The judge also slapped a two-year ban on his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
The hearing had often been heated affair with Trump attacking Engoron in and out of the courtroom during last three months.
Trump’s decision to take on the judge appeared to backfire.
Donald Trump, overall, rarely responded to the queries asked. The former president frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial.
The judge wrote that Mr Trump’s refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility.
Engoron said in his decision that the defendants’ “fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality. Defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences, he added.
