In February, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million, plus interest, and barred him from doing business in New York for three years after finding him liable for financial fraud in September 2023 in a lawsuit brought on by James’ office.
Trump, the presumed GOP presidential nominee in the 2024 election, has claimed that he has done nothing wrong and that the case is politically motivated against him.
He has appealed Engoron’s judgment.
Meanwhile, the former president has until Monday to come up with a $454 million bond to stop James from seizing his assets in order to pay Engoron’s judgment.
MSNBC’s Katie Phang asked Zaytsev on The Katie Phang Show on Saturday about what James could do if Trump can’t come up with the bond.
“New York is a very creditor-friendly state.
We take creditors rights seriously here and our law has a lot of options for creditors to enforce their judgments.
Even before we get to his properties, she can very, very easily go ahead and freeze his bank accounts,” Zaytsev, a New York-based corporate lawyer, said.
She continued: “And all she has to do to that is to serve restraining notices on the banks where he holds accounts, and she can then have a sheriff execute on those accounts or she can commence a turnover proceeding directing the banks directly to turn over the assets in those accounts.”
Zaytsev explained that James can seize Trump’s buildings, belongings, even intellectual property from anywhere in the world.
“Speaking of turnover proceedings, she any actually do that for any asset that Trump owns, no matter where it is located—across the country, across the world,” the lawyer said.
“That includes things like stock that he owns, LLC member interests, intellectual property, cars, planes, jewelry, furniture, personal property.
She can seek an order, directing that Trump turn over those assets to her and then those assets can be auctioned.”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign and lawyer as well as Zaytsev via email for comment.
Besides Trump’s properties in New York, the former president has his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, and a luxury hotel in Las Vegas.
He also has a plethora of golf courses across the United States and even two in Scotland—Aberdeen and Turnberry—and one in Doonbeg, Ireland.
Despite Trump’s legal team writing in a court filing last Monday that it is a “practical impossibility” to come up with the judgment by Monday, the former president said Friday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has almost $500 million in cash.
“Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president,” Trump wrote.
The former president alleged this number was known by James and Engoron and played a factor in the ruling.
“The often overturned political hack judge on the rigged and corrupt A.G. case, where I have done nothing wrong, knew this, wanted to take it away from me, and that’s where and why he came up with the shocking number which, coupled with his crazy interest demand, is approximately $454,000,000,” he added.
Meanwhile, James is already preparing to seize Trump’s assets.
The attorney general registered the $454 million judgment in Westchester County on March 6, according to a Westchester County online database.
This move makes it easier for James to potentially seize the former president’s assets in the New York suburb.
The former president owns the 140-acre Trump National Golf Club Westchester and Seven Springs estate in the county.
In addition, Trump’s two adult sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and two company executives from the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, were also named in James lawsuit and face their own penalties.
Attorney General Letitia James of New York may seize any property owned by the former president Donald Trump “anywhere in the world” to satisfy his $454 million judgment, his attorney Renee Zaytsev stated on Saturday.
Following his conviction for financial fraud in September 2023 in a case initiated by James’ office, Judge Arthur Engoron issued an order in February compelling Trump to pay $355 million, plus interest, and prohibited him from conducting business in New York for three years. According to Trump, who is expected to be the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2024, the investigation against him is politically motivated and he has done nothing wrong. Engoron’s decision has been appealed by him.
To prevent James from taking his assets to pay Engoron’s judgment, the former president has until Monday to provide a $454 million bond.
On The Katie Phang Show on Saturday, MSNBC’s Katie Phang questioned Zaytsev about what James could do in the event that Trump is unable to produce the bond.
“New York is a state that greatly benefits creditors. Here, we respect the rights of creditors, and there are numerous ways for them to obtain judgment enforcement under our legal system. Corporate lawyer Zaytsev of New York stated, “She can very, very easily go ahead and freeze his bank accounts even before we get to his properties.”.
She continued: “And all she has to do to that is to serve restraining notices on the banks where he holds accounts, and she can then have a sheriff execute on those accounts or she can commence a turnover proceeding directing the banks directly to turn over the assets in those accounts. “.”.
According to Zaytsev, James has the authority to confiscate Trump’s assets, including buildings and intellectual property, from any location in the globe.
The attorney stated, “Speaking of turnover proceedings, she any actually do that for any asset that Trump owns, no matter where it is located—across the country, across the world.”. “That includes things like his own stock, interests in LLCs, intellectual property, vehicles, aircraft, jewelry, furnishings, and personal belongings. She has the legal right to ask for an order compelling Trump to give her those assets, which she can then put up for auction. “.
Newsweek sent an email requesting comments to Zaytsev, Trump’s attorney, and his campaign.
Trump owns properties in Palm Beach, Florida; he also owns a luxury hotel in Las Vegas; and he has his Mar-a-Lago resort in New York. In addition, he owns numerous golf courses in the US, two in Scotland (Aberdeen and Turnberry), and one in Ireland (Doonbeg).
Trump said on Friday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has nearly $500 million in cash, despite his legal team’s statement last Monday in a court filing that it is a “practical impossibility” to have the judgment by Monday.
Trump wrote, “I presently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president through hard work, talent, and luck.”.
According to the former president, James and Engoron were aware of this number, which influenced the decision.
“The frequently overthrown political hack judge on the corrupt and rigged A. G. case, where I have done nothing wrong, he knew this and wanted to take it away from me. For this reason, he arrived at the startling figure of about $454,000,000, which he combined with his outrageous interest demand.
James has already started getting ready to take Trump’s property. A Westchester County web database indicates that the attorney general filed the $454 million judgment on March 6.
James now has an easier time possibly taking possession of the former president’s suburban New York properties. The former president is the owner of the 140-acre Westchester and Seven Springs estate at Trump National Golf Club.
And Trump’s two grown sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, along with two Trump Organization business executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, who were also mentioned in James’ lawsuit and are subject to penalties of their own.
