New York financial fraud
Knight Specialty Insurance pays Trump’s $175 million fraud trial bond
Key players: Knight Specialty Insurance CEO Don Hankey, Judge Arthur Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump attorney Alina Habba
- On Monday, the Knight Specialty Insurance Co. loaned Trump $175 million to cover his bond in the civil financial fraud trial, Bloomberg reported. The company is owned by Hankey, who said he approached Trump about the loan.
- “This is what we do at Knight Insurance, and we’re happy to do this for anyone who needs a bond,” Hankey told the Associated Press.
- Last month, a New York appeals court judge lowered the bond amount from $464 million (110% of Egoron’s judgment) to $175 million after Trump’s lawyers said they had been turned down by 30 lenders to secure the higher amount.
- “Yes, I voted for him in the past, but this is a business deal and this is what we do,” Hankey said of the loan, which, he added, Trump secured using cash as collateral.
- By posting the $175 million bond, Trump prevents James from seizing his assets while he appeals Engoron’s judgment.
- The New York state Appellate Division has said it would hear arguments in September.
- If Trump wins on appeal, he will get the bond amount back. If he loses, he will immediately owe the rest of the original judgment plus the interest accrued since the date of the Engoron’s original ruling.
Why it matters: While Trump indicated during the financial fraud trial that he had nearly half a billion in cash reserves, he told the appeals court judge that he wanted to keep that free to use for the 2024 presidential campaign. Having secured a loan from Hankey’s company, he is now free, at least for the meantime, to spend it on that.
Article Appeared @https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-legal-news-brief-billionaire-don-hankeys-company-covers-trumps-175-million-fraud-trial-bond-203355884.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00
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