A New York judge ruled against Donald Trump on Friday, imposing a penalty of 364 million dollars (£288m) over what the judge ruled was a years long scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth.
Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a two-and-a-half-month trial, which saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system.
The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who sued Mr Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.
The former president was also banned from holding executive office at a New York company and from getting loans from New York banks for three years.
Mr Trump’s lawyers had said even before the verdict that they would appeal.
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