Days after Judge Arthur Engoron ordered former President Trump to pay $355 million in his civil fraud case, plus an additional $100 million in prejudgment interest, New York Attorney General Letita James said she’s prepared to seize the 45th president’s assets if he doesn’t pay up.
"If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," she told ABC News' Aaron Katersky.
"We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day," James added, confident that she’d succeed in an appeal.
Pushing back against Trump’s argument that there weren’t any actual victims, James claimed "financial frauds are not victimless crimes.”
“He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn't just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering," James said. "If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents."
DEVELOPING: @NewYorkStateAG Letitia James (@TishJames) tells @abcnews she's prepared to seize Trump's buildings if he can't pay his $354M fine.
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 21, 2024
NOTE - BANKRUPTING TRUMP: If you haven't been paying attention, Donald Trump currently owes $87,500 in daily interest on a… pic.twitter.com/BeaIbAId9g
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul attempted to address concerns over the weekend, saying law-abiding business owners have "nothing to worry about, because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior."
Others like “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary disagreed.
“It was already on the top of the list of being a loser state,” he said during an interview with Fox Business, referring to high taxes and regulation. “I would never invest in New York now. And I’m not the only person saying that.”