Judge bans Trump from doing business in New York, fines him $355m

A severe blow to Donald Trump's economic empire and financial status was dealt on Friday when a New York judge ordered him to pay $355 million over fraud claims and prohibited him from managing enterprises in the state for three years.

In order to get favourable bank loans or insurance terms, Trump—who is practically a lock to be the Republican nominee for president in November—was found to have illegally inflated his wealth and manipulated the worth of his properties.

Calling it "weaponization against a political opponent who's up a lot in the polls," Trump accused President Joe Biden of spearheading the case and threatened to file an appeal.

There was no risk of incarceration because the matter was civil rather than criminal. However, Trump declared prior to the decision that a prohibition on doing business in the state of New York would be comparable to the "corporate death penalty."

Using his legal troubles to galvanise supporters and disparage his expected opponent, Biden, Trump has said that court cases are "just a way of hurting me in the election." Trump is currently facing 91 felony counts in separate cases.

Judge Arthur Engoron, however, asserted that Trump's actions justify the crippling fines.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,” Engoron said of Trump and his two sons, who were also defendants, in his scathing ruling.

“They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money… Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways,” he added, referring to the perpetrator of a massive Ponzi scheme.

Donald Trump Jr. and his son Eric were also found guilty in the case and given orders to pay over $4 million apiece. Don Jr. then took to social media to assert that the judgement was the result of "political beliefs."

The decision will also compel the Trump Organisation, a company that prides itself on being a family enterprise, to hire a separate compliance director who would report to the court.

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