Donald Trump Ordered to Pay $364 Million in New York Civil Fraud Case

A New York judge has ruled against Donald Trump, imposing a USD 364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president's wealth.

Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a two-and-a-half-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system.

The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.

Trump's lawyers had said even before the verdict that they would appeal.