“Given [the] Defendants’ demonstrated propensity to engage in persistent fraud, failure to grant such an injunction could result in extreme prejudice to the people of New York,” Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in an order issued in New York state court in Manhattan on Thursday. The New York attorney general’s office, which brought a broad civil suit against the Trump Organization and members of the Trump family in September, had requested the installation of a screen, earlier telling the court that Trump companies were trying to move money out of its jurisdiction state. On the day the case was filed, the Trump Organization created another company called Trump Organization II, which was incorporated in Delaware, lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James told the court, arguing it was an attempt to move assets beyond from the competence of the state. officials. “Today’s decision will ensure that Donald Trump and his companies cannot continue the widespread fraud we have uncovered,” James said after the ruling. “No amount of lawsuits, delay tactics or threats will stop the pursuit of justice.” The order, along with the judge’s rejection of most of the Trump entities’ arguments, adds to the former president’s growing legal woes, which include an ongoing criminal trial against the Trump Organization in New York. Trump and his allies also face multiple investigations over issues including the removal of classified documents from the White House. Trump’s lawyers had filed a separate lawsuit in Florida late Wednesday, arguing that the New York attorney general’s office had engaged in an “unapologetic crusade” that illegally crossed state lines. But James’ office said the move showed Trump was “trying to shield key documents governing the structure of his business group and the ownership of his business assets from scrutiny,” and argued that it made the need for an order even more more compelling. Trump entities had previously opposed the order, arguing that James, a Democrat, had engaged in a “politically motivated” effort to destroy the former president’s businesses and that the move would “effectively allow the NYAG to nationalize the business empire Trump”. Recommended The judge said in his order that the role of a monitor — to be paid by the Trump Organization — would be to oversee the filing of accounts and financial disclosures, rather than to exercise control over businesses. It also prohibited Trump entities from “selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of any non-cash asset” listed on Trump’s latest financial statement without notifying the attorney general’s office or a court. The attorney general’s lawsuit alleges that Trump and the Trump Enterprises inflated the value of assets — such as Trump Tower apartments and the Mar-a-Lago property in Florida — by billions of dollars over 11 years in order to attract favorable financing from banks. If the attorney general’s case is successful, the court could permanently bar Trump and his children from serving as an officer or director of any New York company and bar the former president from buying real estate in the state. Trump businesses could be forced to pay back up to $250 million.
