Donald Trump committed business fraud for years while building his real estate empire and ordered some of the former president's companies removed from his control and dissolved, New York judge Arthur Engoron ruled Tuesday.
The ruling was on a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which found that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets significantly and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans, CTV News reported.
The judge also ordered that some of Trump's business licenses be rescinded and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee Trump Organization operations.
"My Civil rights have been violated, and some Appellate Court, whether federal or state, must reverse this horrible, un-American decision," Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.
The judge found that Trump consistently overvalued Mar-a-Lago, inflating its value on one financial statement by as much as 2,300%, and criticized the former president for lying about the size of his Manhattan apartment.
The judge’s ruling is a phase of the case known as summary judgment, which resolves the key claim in the lawsuit, but several others remain.
He'll decide on those claims and the Attorney General’s request for $250 million in penalties at a trial starting October 2.
Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kise, said they would appeal, calling the decision "completely disconnected from the facts and governing law."
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