(EFE).- A New York judge said Thursday he will appoint an independent monitor who will be tasked with ensuring the Trump Organization, a conglomerate of hundreds of business entities, does not sell, transfer or dispose of assets ahead of a civil fraud trial.
In Judge Arthur Engoron’s 11-page order, he said the need for an independent monitor was justified due to the “persistent misrepresentations throughout every one of (ex-President Donald) Trump’s (Statements of Financial Condition) between 2011 and 2021.”
On Sept. 21, New York state Attorney General Letitia James sued the Trump Organization, Trump and three of his adult children.
She alleged they falsely inflated Trump’s “net worth by billions of dollars” to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums and gain other economic benefits.
The lawsuit aims to remove Trump and his children from their roles at the Trump Organization, ban them from future leadership roles in New York state and require them to repay $250 million they allegedly illegally obtained.
Shortly after filing the suit, James alleged that Trump and his company were “moving assets to evade liability” and asked Engoron to order an injunction to “stop ongoing fraud.”
On Thursday, James’ office hailed the “major victory” for her office in the ongoing lawsuit and said the judge had found that the “claims in the suit are likely to succeed at trial.”
It said the judge “ruled that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization cannot transfer any material assets to another entity without court approval (and) are required to include all supporting and relevant material in any new financial disclosures to banks and insurers.”
The independent monitor, meanwhile, will “oversee compliance with these measures.”
James’ office, furthermore, said in its Oct. 13 motion for a preliminary injunction that “the Trump Organization appears to be taking steps to restructure its business to evade the reaches of OAG’s lawsuit.”
It noted that on the same day the lawsuit was filed the Trump Organization registered a new entity with the New York Secretary of State known as Trump Organization II LLC – “a foreign corporation that was incorporated in Delaware.”
James’ office said then that the “Trump Organization has since refused to provide any assurance that it will not seek to move assets out of New York to evade legal accountability.”
Trump retaliated against James on Wednesday, filing a lawsuit in Florida that accused her of carrying out a “war of intimidation and harassment” and trampling on Trump’s privacy rights.
The suit aims to prevent the New York attorney general from obtaining records from the Florida revocable trust that owns the Trump Organization.
In a separate case, a criminal trial against the Trump Organization began Monday in New York.
The company is accused of criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records and other charges.
Neither Trump nor his family members are on trial in that case. EFE
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