NY prosecutors, Trump attorney reach agreement on $175 million bond in civil fraud judgment case
New York Attorney General Letitia James had asked for former President Donald Trump's $175 million bond to be blocked.
New York prosecutors and an attorney for former President Donald Trump reached an agreement Monday regarding the $175 million bond Trump posted in the civil fraud judgment case brought by the state attorney general.
Trump was ordered to pay a combined $464 million in February after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that the former president and his organization had inflated his net worth in order to get better tax and insurance benefits. Trump posted the $175 million bond to block the larger penalty in the civil fraud judgment case while he appealed the judgment.
On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) asked Engoron to block the bond, claiming Trump and his organization had not provided enough proof that they had the necessary money to pay it off.
During a recess for the court hearing regarding the bond on Monday, Trump and Knight Specialty Insurance Company lawyers agreed to keep the bond in a cash account that gains interest and faces no downside risk, according to the Associated Press.
Andrew Amer, a lawyer for New York state, proposed the settlement on Monday, explaining that the state sought extra assurances because the money had been raised with aid from a relatively small, out-of-state insurance company.
According to the deal, Knight Specialty Insurance Company will exclusively control the $175 million and submit to the New York state court jurisdiction while agreeing to not move the cash into mutual funds or other financial instruments.