NEW YORK — Donald Trump could lose some of his prized property if he doesn’t pay his hefty fine for his New York fraud trial.
With interest, the former president and real estate mogul owes the state nearly $454 million, and that’s in addition to $87,502 for each day he doesn’t pay.
Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News on Tuesday that she could seize some of Trump’s assets if he fails to pay the fine imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron on Feb. 16.
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Engoron concluded that Trump for years inflated the value of his assets to obtain contracts and soft loans, while building his real estate empire that brought him fame and eventually the White House.
Trump denies any wrongdoing and says he will appeal.
«If he doesn’t have the funds to pay the penalty, then we’ll look to the courts for ways to enforce the ruling, and we’ll ask the judge to seize his assets,» James, a Democrat, said in an interview with ABC reporter Aaron Katersky.
Trump’s ability to pay his huge legal costs is in doubt in the face of back-to-back court setbacks: In January, a jury ordered him to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her.
Trump said last year that he has about $400 million in cash, reserves that would go to pay his fines. The rest of his net worth, which he claims amounts to several billion dollars, consists of golf courses, skyscrapers and other real estate properties apart from investments and other properties.
But it’s unlikely James will try to take the keys to Trump Tower or Mar-a-Lago immediately.
Trump has vowed to appeal the ruling, and that would delay collecting his fines while the process takes its course.
If Trump can’t pay, the state «could seize and sell his assets, and collect the debts of everyone who owes him money,» said Gregory Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University.
Asset forfeiture is a common legal tactic when an individual is unable to pay a civil penalty. In one famous case, O.J. Simpson’s Heisman Trophy was confiscated and auctioned off in 1999 to collect part of the $33.5 million fine imposed on him for wrongful death.
Trump could avoid a seizure of his assets if he has enough cash — or if he is able to turn assets into enough liquidity — to pay off his debts plus interest.
What is not known is how much he actually has, because most of the information about Trump’s wealth comes from Trump, through government reports and annual financial statements that Engoron deemed fraudulent.
Trump reported having about $294 million in cash or cash equivalents on his most recent annual balance sheet for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021.