New York attorney general asks judge to fine Trump $370 million in fraud case

New York Attorney General Letitia James has upped the ante in her civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump, asking the judge to fine him more than $370 million, a court filing shows.

She also requested that the former president and two of his former business associates, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, be permanently barred from participating in the New York real estate business.

“Trump, Weisselberg and McConney worked together for years to inflate Trump’s net worth while concealing the fraud from counterparties,” the filing said.

"The conclusion that defendants intended to defraud when preparing and certifying Trump's statements of financial condition is inescapable; the myriad deceptive schemes they employed to inflate asset values and conceal facts were so outrageous that they belie innocent explanation,” the brief said.

The attorney general originally asked for $250 million when she filed her lawsuit, but she wrote that the new total reflects all of the evidence of “ill-gotten gains.”

In another filing, Mr. Trump’s defense team argued that “errors or misstatements happen all the time in accounting if there are no indicia of fraud such as concealment, forgery, or deceit, then there is no basis to determine” that fraud occurred, and that “any misstatements are just accidental errors.”

Ms. James brought the case against the former president, alleging that he and his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, misled banks and insurers by exaggerating the value of his company’s assets to get better insurance rates and better loan terms.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already found the former president, his sons and his company liable for business fraud. The ongoing trial addresses other claims and if, or what, the damages will be.

The two sides are set to give their closing arguments on Jan. 11.