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Judge has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.

Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

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[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 181 points 9 months ago

There really should be some DOJ investigation into why the SDNY dropped the case in the first place.

[-] ivanafterall@kbin.social 139 points 9 months ago

Is he basically just a full-time legal defendant now?

[-] squiblet@kbin.social 106 points 9 months ago

His full-time job is pretending to be a martyr/savior and asking rubes for money.

[-] utopianfiat@lemmy.world 33 points 9 months ago

I sure hope the Republican donor class is neglecting the rest of the 2024 races for the sake of trying in vain to keep Trump out of prison

[-] IDontHavePantsOn@lemm.ee 15 points 9 months ago

You reminded me of a video news story from the early 2000s where the news station interviewed a guy, who panhandled while pretending to be a wheelchair bound homeless person in front of Walmart, as a sort of "gotcha" journalism piece. He was totally open and honest about it and was chuckling the entire time. At the end of the piece they asked "so now they we have outed you on tv, how are you going to trick people into giving you money?" He replied, "I'm just going to go over there (while pointing to adjacent stores). "And you think you will get people to give you money?" "Yeah, no one knows who I am and people forget so quickly that it won't effect me". (These aren't exact quotes.)

In a way Trump does the same thing. Everyone forgets his past actions quickly, blames the outcomes on the other party, and just moves on to different allegations he can spin. There's so much news surrounding him theres little time to actually interpret his actions, and he can just shift gears to another group of downtrodden citizens to swindle if he pisses his supporters off.

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[-] guidedlight@lemmy.world 37 points 9 months ago

He always was a full-time legal defendant. I’ll leave this here…

https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/

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[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 21 points 9 months ago
[-] morphballganon@mtgzone.com 16 points 9 months ago

It only counts as creating jobs if you pay your employees

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[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 124 points 9 months ago

So why the hell is this a civil suit rather than a criminal one?? Last I checked, bank fraud, insurance fraud, and other fraud are all illegal crimes that are against the law!

[-] elbarto777@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Not that I don't agree with you, but I just want to point out that not all cases of breaking the law are criminal. For example, if you run a red light, a cop won't throw you in jail for it. You'll get a fine, though.

Of course, what Trump did should put him in jail.

But seeing his empire dismantle must be more devastating to his ego than the possibility of prison.

[-] insomniac@sh.itjust.works 18 points 9 months ago

Fraud is a crime that can come with jail time though.

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

if you run a red light, a cop won't throw you in jail for it. You'll get a fine, though.

Traffic violations such as that are considered civil offences, not criminal ones. Trump keeps being found guilty of federal crimes in civil courts. There's no way that someone less rich and powerful would get the same treatment.

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[-] EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

Only if you’re a poor.

[-] tryptaminev@feddit.de 13 points 9 months ago

I am also confused. Why does the attorney general put forward a civil suit in the first place? Civil court is for parties to seek damages or the other party to do or stop doing actions against contractual obligations.

Or did Trump defraud the city of New York and it is seeking compensation?

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

Or did Trump defraud the city of New York and it is seeking compensation?

Yeah, some of the "other fraud" is tax fraud, so in a very real and direct sense, he defrauded New York. Still doesn't make sense for it to be a civil suit rather than a criminal one, though.

Must be nice to be rich and powerful enough for your decades of major crimes to count as civil infractions 😮‍💨

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[-] singron@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

They could potentially bring a related criminal suit later. I'm not an attorney, and there are a lot of specific rules about, but the stakes are lower in a civil case (i.e. no prison) and the burden of proof is easier, so you can more easily prove things or get the defense to admit things in a civil case that can sometimes make a criminal case easier.

Even if you can't cite the civil case from the criminal case, just the fact that the civil case ruled one way gives the prosecution confidence to commit to a criminal case and leverage if they negotiate a settlement.

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[-] Anissem@lemmy.ml 100 points 9 months ago

His coffin must be so large to need this many nails

[-] JWBananas@startrek.website 17 points 9 months ago

No more than 215

[-] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 9 points 9 months ago

And yet there he is, still going free.

[-] squiblet@kbin.social 13 points 9 months ago

It's a civil case, so yeah. Only financial penalties and business restrictions can result.

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[-] ImFresh3x@sh.itjust.works 72 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Went to Fox News to find this huge story. Scrolled by 7 non stories to find the headline ‘judge announced ruling on trump case’ with a picture of the judge looking black holding a microphone as if she’s some *political activist,” with no mention that he was found guilty of massive decades long fraud.

[-] lemmyman@lemmy.world 28 points 9 months ago

FYI the photo you're referring to is of NY Attorney General Letitia James, not the judge. She looks black because she's black.

[-] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 29 points 9 months ago

Excellent image-based propaganda, showing Trump clapping which implies he's celebrating exoneration.

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 22 points 9 months ago

Please add screenshot. Don't want to give traffic to them.

[-] Nelots@lemm.ee 14 points 9 months ago

It was the first thing I saw when I went to the website, but their description of it is pretty damn accurate.

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[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 58 points 9 months ago

hell yeah

Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee the Trump Organization’s operations.

[-] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)
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[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

At this point, who is stupid enough to do business with Trump that would also care if he has a business license?

And why would Trump even pretend to do legitimate business after finding a donation grift that keeps on giving the more trouble he gets in?

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 15 points 9 months ago

who is stupid enough

Republicans

why pretend to do legitimate business

donations laundering

[-] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 34 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Oh okay, I was a bit confused at first. This is part of the massive civil case, but these are claims within that case that the judge issued summary judgment for. There are still more claims that will go to trial next week.

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[-] Nobody@lemmy.world 31 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

If he had lost in 2016, Trump TV would have stolen Fox's audience and been the de facto voice of the Republican Party. No indictments. No scrutiny. Hillary would have been in charge during the pandemic and kept the public safe. The Supreme Court would still be a trusted institution (minus Citizens United) running in the political background.

We would have our nice, stable, boring politics back. Hillary would wear a tan pantsuit, and that would be the headline for the next two weeks.

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[-] scripthook@lemmy.world 30 points 9 months ago

And you wonder why he never wanted to release his tax returns. Becoming President put him under the microscope and what he did after the 2020 election was by his own doing. I hope that Trump supporters stick with him if he's in prison before the 2024 election. It'll be the easiest election to win. One candidate is in prison for attempting to overturn the last election but claims he can pardon himself. The other is not. Hrmmm which one should you vote for?

[-] v_krishna@lemmy.ml 20 points 9 months ago

Crazy part is thanks in no small part to the electoral college it'll still be a close election in your scenario

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 17 points 9 months ago

People will still vote Trump, if not just to see what will happen

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[-] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 28 points 9 months ago

The big questions that no one is asking:

Why did it take so long to get him for fraud? They specifically mentioned that this was while he was building his real estate empire. He's been doing that since the 80s. Why the fuck did it take some 4 decades to build up a big enough case against him?! Why wasn't he previously investigated? Why weren't any of our useless news agencies digging into his finances? He ran for fucken president, for fucks sakes... why couldn't all this mess have been avoided if various news departments and law enforcement agencies did their damn jobs.

The most egregious thing about all this is that if he didn't run for president, probably none of this criminal activity would ever have really come to light. District attorneys and news rooms across the country would have just let all this slide. Which then makes you wonder - how many other billionaires are there out there who are nearly as corrupt as Trump, but because they don't lavish the media attention, they keep low and none of us know about them. Why aren't those people being investigated? Why does it take decades to go after these asswipes and only when they purposefully shine the light on themselves?

[-] prole@sh.itjust.works 34 points 9 months ago

Which then makes you wonder - how many other billionaires are there out there who are nearly as corrupt as Trump

All of them.

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[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

The media did so very little to vet him. They just wanted the eyeballs.

[-] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

Free-pass after free-pass for Republicans. Impossibly-high standards for Democrats.

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[-] Rapidcreek@reddthat.com 28 points 9 months ago

Letitia James draws first blood.

[-] emptiestplace@lemmy.ml 22 points 9 months ago

Am I stupid for feeling skeptical still?

[-] Natanael@slrpnk.net 28 points 9 months ago

They're dissolving his NY state based companies, that's very big

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[-] roguetrick@kbin.social 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Summary judgement? Nice. Trump's team didn't see that coming I bet.

[-] jballs@sh.itjust.works 21 points 9 months ago

For anyone, like me, who didn't know what a summary judgement was:

Summary judgment is granted when the facts can be decided upon without needing to go to trial, where the opposing party would lose due to a lack of evidence. If it's not clear that there is no more evidence, then summary judgment must be denied.

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[-] fne8w2ah@lemmy.world 18 points 9 months ago

Let covfefe's house of cards crumble like the small whiny weenie that he is!

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 15 points 9 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.

Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.

Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums, Engoron found.

Those tactics crossed a line and violated the law, the judge said, rejecting Trump’s contention that a disclaimer on the financial statements absolved him of any wrongdoing.

Manhattan prosecutors had looked into bringing a criminal case over the same conduct but declined to do so, leaving James to sue Trump and seek penalties that could disrupt his and his family’s ability to do business in the state.


The original article contains 345 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 38%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

I'm not a religious person, but karma is real.

[-] FUCKRedditMods@lemm.ee 30 points 9 months ago

You think the KARMA he deserves is being meted out?! With this slow fucking shitshow?

It’s not karma to break the law and then be prosecuted for it, that’s just “the law” or society/government. If karma was real this fucker never would have been president.

If karma was real my life wouldn’t suck so hard. If karma was real then 50% of the world’s money wouldn’t be in the hands of like 83 terrible people. If karma was real police officers wouldn’t get away with murder all the time, or get a $31k/year pension for shooting an unarmed man in a hotel hallway (cops and rich people are an example of when the LAW is just as imaginary as karma).

The list could go on forever. The idea of karma is a nice fantasy we justice-minded people can imagine, but in reality, it’s just bullshit like every other superstition.

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[-] gregorum@lemm.ee 17 points 9 months ago

I just call it “justice"

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this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
1076 points (98.8% liked)

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