by Misty Severi
New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office has asked a judge on Friday to block a $175 million bond that former President Donald Trump secured to delay paying a larger punishment in his civil fraud case.
Trump was ordered to pay a combined $464 million, plus interest, earlier this year after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and his organization had inflated his net worth in order to get better tax and insurance benefits. The sum was later reduced to $175 million, which Trump posted.
James’s office on Friday claimed that Trump and his organization had not provided enough proof that they had the necessary money to pay off the bond, the Hill reported.
“Based on the foregoing, the People respectfully request that the Court deny Movants’ motion to justify the surety, declare the Bond to be without effect and order that any replacement bond be posted within seven days, along with such other and further relief the Court deems necessary and appropriate,” lawyers with James’s office wrote in a 26-page filing.
Trump’s bond was secured by the Knight Specialty Insurance Company in California. Before Trump’s policy, the company had not written a surety in New York, and was not authorized to do so, lawyers for James’s office said.
The company also allegedly violated New York state law because they opened themselves up to liabilities that equaled more than 10 percent of their surplus. Under state law, they were not supposed to authorize a bond of more than $13.8 million because they only had a surplus of $138 million.
“Based on KSIC’s policyholder surplus in its most recent annual financial statement of $138,441,671, the limitation of loss on any one risk that KSIC is permitted to write is $13.8 million,” the lawyers wrote. “The face amount of the bond exceeds this limitation by $161.2 million.”
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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News.
Photo “Letitia James ” by New York State Attorney General.
