Former United States President Donald Trump's company, the Trump Organization, will be overseen by an independent monitor regarding its financial reporting, an order that a judge approved on Thursday.
The request was made by the New York Attorney-General amid an investigation of the Republican businessman's company. After a day-long hearing, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron issued the order that required the Trump Organization's dealing with banks and sale of major assets to be subject to supervision by a third-party expert that would be named by the court.
Independent Monitor
Furthermore, one provision in Judge Engoron's order requires a 14-day notice to the court before the former president's company can dispose of any "non-cash asset" that is listed in a financial statement that the firm prepared last year.
Engoron's order also came over strenuous objections from Trump's lawyers in Manhattan earlier on Thursday. There, Trump's team argued with Engoron to reject Attorney General Letitia James' bid to impose that potentially far-reaching supervision of the Trump Organization, as per Politico.
The judge noted in his ruling that evidence of fraudulent valuations by the former president and his company was "more than sufficient" to indicate that the New York Attorney-General was likely to win the lawsuit that she filed back in September. That lawsuit seeks to impose strict limits on the Trump Organization's activities in New York and place a ban on Trump and his three eldest children from serving as an officer of any New York corporation.
The legal battle that Trump is facing came after the two sides faced off in court for the first time since the New York Attorney-General was the focus of the nation for her civil lawsuit against the former president and his business. On Thursday, James quickly hailed Judge Engoron's decision as a step forward to getting justice for Trump.
According to the Daily Beast, the Trump Organization is accused of engaging in a blatant and long-running bank and tax fraud scheme. Documents described how the former president's company inflated the size and value of property in order to get better bank loans and claim bigger tax breaks.
Lawsuit Against The Trump Organization
James is now looking to put the Trumps on trial in 2023 over the case, similar to how the former president is expected to pursue his political ambitions in a potential return to the White House. The Republican businessman has already taken measures that indicate he could be playing corporate games to avoid accountability, much to the New York Attorney-General's concerns.
Trump has, in recent weeks, opened a new corporation in the shell company capital of Delaware, which is called "Trump Organization II." On Wednesday, the former president filed a state lawsuit in Florida's Palm Beach County against the Attorney-General's office.
Engoron's order to have an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization's financial reporting was justified given the company's "persistent misrepresentations throughout every one of Mr. Trump's [Statements of Financial Condition] between 2011 and 2021." The judge added that the monitor would ensure there would be no further fraud or illegality made by the company, CNBC reported.
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