Trump accepts new $175 million bail limit in New York civil fraud case – Times of India

Former President Donald Trump New York agreed Monday to impose an additional $175 million in sanctions on bonds issued by former US presidents Civil fraud caseAddresses the state attorney general’s concern that the funds were not secure.
The issuer of these bonds Knight Professional Insurance The goal is to ensure Trump complies with the $454.2 million judgment won by the states Attorney General Letitia James If his appeal fails.
Judge Arthur Ngoren The punishment comes after Republican presidential candidate Trump confronted the president Joe Biden During the November 5 election, fraudulently inflated his net worth and real estate holdings to trick banks and insurance companies into offering better terms.
James, a Democrat, raised questions about the bond this month, saying Trump still had access to the Charles Schwab accounts pledged to the insurance company as collateral.
But at Monday’s hearing, where jurors heard opening arguments in Trump’s criminal hush-money trial, attorneys for Trump and Knight agreed that the funds would be kept in cash and not traded for securities.
They also agreed that Knight would have exclusive control of the account, would be prohibited from withdrawing funds and would provide James with monthly statements to ensure the cash never went anywhere.
The deal came after Ngoron raised questions about the security of the collateral.
“You keep using the word contract, what if they’re in breach of contract?” he asked Trump’s lawyer, Christopher Keys. “It all looks like a house of cards.”
Knight is owned by billionaire Trump supporter Don Hankey.
Earlier Monday, Trump defended Bond outside of court during his criminal trial.
“We paid cash, the amount was 175,” Trump said, “He shouldn’t be complaining about the bonding company. The bonding company would be good for this because I keep the money. I had a lot of money. “
James argued in court papers that a trust owned by Trump still controls the account and that Knight’s own financial arrangements do not appear to be adequate to pay the bond.
Hankey has previously said in interviews that he took less pay from Trump because he didn’t anticipate problems.
“We thought it would be a simple process that would not involve any other legal issues, but that is not the case,” he said. “Maybe we’re not charging enough.”
Hankey made his fortune from subprime auto loans, and some regulators criticized his company’s debt collection tactics. According to Forbes magazine, he is worth $7.4 billion.
Trump was initially required to secure bond for the full sentence while appealing, but a state appeals court allowed him to post a shorter bond.
With attention now focused on Trump’s criminal trial, Ngolon noted that the number of people visiting the courtroom was relatively low compared to when he oversaw the civil fraud trial.
He joked at the beginning of the hearing, where is everyone?

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