Judge in Trump’s civil fraud trial imposes monitor to oversee Trump Organization’s finances

(NEW YORK) — Effective Thursday, former President Donald Trump’s namesake family real estate company has a babysitter.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw Trump’s civil fraud trial, imposed a monitor over the Trump Organization as part of a judgment that also required Trump to pay a nearly-half billion dollar penalty.

Barbara Jones, a retired federal judge, has been overseeing the Trump Organization’s finances since November 2022 as part of a preliminary injunction. She is now installed for the next three years.

As part of the arrangement, the Trump Organization must open its books to Jones, who has also been given the ability to suggest court-ordered changes in how the Trump Organization operates.

She must be notified about any large cash transfers, the creation or dissolution of assets, the restructuring of debt and “any efforts to secure surety bonds,” according to Engoron’s order issued Thursday.

Engoron in February ordered Trump to pay $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest after he found the former president and his adult sons liable for using “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate his net worth in order to get more favorable loan terms. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has appealed the decision in the case.

Trump is facing a Monday deadline to secure a bond to guarantee payment of the $464 million judgment should he lose his appeal. His lawyers have said it is “a practical impossibility,” but New York Attorney General Letitia James suggested Trump had not explored all of his options.

The imposition of a monitor could limit Trump’s ability to maneuver his money and his physical assets, as he attempts to secure the bond and pay his debts.

“Defendants shall not evade the terms of this Monitorship Order by transferring assets, reincorporating existing business entities in other forms or jurisdictions, modifying entity ownership, or any other form of restructuring or change in corporate form,” Engoron said in his order.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.