On Friday, New York's governor announced that his business operations in the state would be closed after Donald Trump lost a civil fraud trial, was fined $355 million and temporarily banned from doing business in the state. He told the masters, “There's nothing to worry about.''
In an interview with supermarket billionaire John Catsimatidis on the New York radio show “Cats Roundtable,” Kathy Hochul said that the fines imposed on Trump for engaging in deceptive trade practices have affected the state's commercial environment. The move sought to quell some concerns that it could cool the economy.
Asked whether businessmen should be worried that prosecutors “could do the same thing to the former president, they can do the same to anyone,” Hochul said: . “New Yorkers who are law-abiding, rule-abiding businessmen have nothing to worry about. It's very different from Donald Trump and his actions.”
He added that the fraud case against Trump arose out of “really unusual, unusual circumstances.”
Hochul's comments were aimed at some New York business leaders who said they were concerned that Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against Trump could deter businesses and investment in the state. It is. Hochul said the James case shows how Trump and some of his allies used inflated real estate values to obtain lucrative bank loans and insurance premiums. .
The governor said most New York business owners are “honest people, they're not trying to hide their assets, and they follow the rules.”
Hochul said most business owners do not deserve state intervention.
“This judge found that Donald Trump did not follow the rules,” Hochul added. “He has been indicted, but the reality is that the governor of New York has no say in the amount of the fine. We want to make sure there is no interference at that level.”
President Trump, who denied any wrongdoing in the case and claimed there were no victims, raised an unrecoverable $35 million to secure security deposits (third-party guarantees) on real estate he owned. You have 30 days to prove that you can do it. If his appeal fails he will pay the full fine.
Another option is to put the $355 million into an escrow account, but get the money back if the company wins on appeal.
Either way, the ruling is a blow to the developer-politician who associates economic success with self-awareness. And Mr. James said that after taking interest into account, Mr. Trump actually plans to pay more than $463 million.
In September, Trump's former lawyer Christopher Kise argued in court that the ruling against the former president would have an “irreversible impact on many businesses.” Kise also claimed that 1,000 employees within the Trump empire would also be threatened.
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But Judge Arthur Engoron, who found the former president liable for fraud and assessed a fine and a three-year disqualification from doing business in New York, ordered all companies in the state owned by President Trump to be dissolved. It overturned an earlier ruling and dissolved all businesses in the state that may have been led by President Trump. To liquidation.
“This is a venial offense, not a capital offense,” Engoron wrote in his 92-page ruling, allowing President Trump to continue operating his business and monitoring “serious activities that could lead to fraud.” Appointed two supervisors.
Mr. Engoron said he may renew his request for “possible restructuring and dissolution” based on “substantive evidence.”
President Trump slammed the ruling, vowing to appeal, and calling James and Engoron “corrupt.”
But James said Friday: “This long-running fraud was intentional, egregious and illegal.” He added: “There can't be different rules for different people in this country, and former presidents are no exception.”
