By Aaron Miller-
A U.S judge has imposed hefty fine of $355m against the former president, Donald Trump(pictured) and his company and associates with with interest bringing it to $450m — and a three-year ban on doing business in the state.
His sons and co-defendants Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump were b fined $4m (£3.17m) each and hit with two-year bans on doing business in New York.
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However, the judge stopped short of cancelling Trump’s business licences, which some experts said could have effectively ended his business empire.
Trump and his two adult sons were found to have massively inflated the value of their properties by hundreds of millions of dollars to get better loans.
Trump’s team say they will appeal the ruling, which the Trump Organization called a “gross miscarriage of justice”
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Justice Arthur Engoron had already ruled that Mr Trump inflated his wealth on financial statements that were given to banks and insurers to make deals and secure favourable loans.
The ruling comes as a blow to the beleaguered former U.S president after another judge denied Trump a motion to dismiss the case brought against him by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal a “hush money” payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels, setting a trial date of 25 March.
Trump reacted to the ruling with a rant on his Truth Social blog
He said: “A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of “I will get Trump,” before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
He vowed to appeal the judge’s ruling.
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New York’s Attorney General Letitia James reacted to the news during a conference with news reporters.
She said: “Today justice has been served,” James says, repeating her earlier statements.
“Today we proved that no one is above the law. No matter how rich, powerful or politically connected you are.”
She adds that former US president Donald Trump committed “tremendous” fraud to “unjustly enrich himself, his family and to cheat the system”.
“We have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the market place.”