‘Trump has failed to get appeal bond for $454m civil fraud judgment’

NEW YORK: Donald Trump has so far been unable to obtain a bond that would allow him to appeal a $454 million judgment against the former US president in a New York civil fraud case without posting the full amount himself, his lawyers said on Monday.

Trump must either find the cash or post a bond to prevent the state’s authorities from seizing his properties while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron’s Feb 16 decision ordering him and co-defendants to pay $464 million in penalties and interest for misstating property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

In a court filing on Monday, the Republican presidential candidate’s lawyers urged a mid-level state appeals court to delay enforcement of the judgment, arguing the amount was excessive.

They said the defendants had so far approached 30 surety companies through four separate brokers to obtain a bond.

“Enforcing an impossible bond requirement as a condition of appeal would inflict manifest irreparable injury on Defendants,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

The lawyers asked that he instead be allowed to post a $100 million bond while he appeals the judgment. A bonding company would be on the hook for any payout if Trump loses his appeal and proves unable to pay. Trump’s lawyers included a statement by Gary Giulietti, an executive with insurance brokerage the Lockton Companies, which Trump has hired to help get a bond.