Donald Trump’s legal woes seem to be escalating beyond just criminal proceedings. He’s facing potential bankruptcy in civil lawsuits against his family business, the Trump Organization.
The alleged billionaire might actually be penniless. The dramatic situation: A New York court ordered Trump to pay a staggering $454 million fine (including interest) for business fraud committed by his real estate company. Now, time is running out.
By early next week at the latest, he must either produce the money or at least a surety bond for it.
Now, Trump’s legal team has dropped a bombshell: He can’t do either, neither pay the money nor provide the guarantee. After negotiations with over a dozen companies that issue such guarantees, his lawyers concluded that obtaining such a surety for almost half a billion Dollar would be “impossible under the current conditions”.
This could quickly turn very bitter: Without a miraculous cash windfall, Trump could lose his right to appeal, according to Axios.
Even more painfully, he could lose some of his famous New York properties. District. Attorney Letitia James had threatened to seize and sell off skyscrapers like 40 Wall Street to cover the fine.
If unable to pay, James said she will ask the court to seize Trump’s properties.
Trump’s financial troubles seem to be compounding rapidly. He just deposited nearly $92 million for another civil lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll for defamation.
After the guilty verdict in the Trump Organization trial, Trump claimed he could raise $400 million, which now appears to be mere bluster.
There’s speculation he asked Elon Musk to buy his “Truth Social” platform last summer, but Musk reportedly declined.
More recently, talks emerged about a potential buyout by Digital World Acquisition, which could net Trump $4 billion for his stake – but those shares can’t currently be sold to address his cash crunch.
