Questions are being raised about the company that posted Donald Trump's $175 million bond in connection with a New York lawsuit. The former president needed to post the bond to appeal his $464 million bank fraud case.
Knight Specialty Insurance Company is reportedly not licensed in the state and not vetted to verify it meets eligibility standards to provide bonds.
Also, the paperwork doesn't promise the company will pay the bond if Trump loses his appeal. It says the former president would pay the money, which could render the bond company's involvement pointless.
"This is not common... the only reason this would be done is to limit the liability to the surety," N. Alex Hanley told the Daily Beast.
"I believe this paper isn't worth much and there are more shenanigans behind it," said one former regulator, who's intimately familiar with industry norms but spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The New York Attorney General's office is questioning the bond agreement and has asked the court to review it.
Knight Specialty Insurance, based in Los Angeles, is headed by Don Hankey, a Trump supporter.
"This is what we do at Knight Insurance, and we're happy to be able to accommodate the ex-president in this situation," Don Hankey told ABC News. "I'd say it's more of a business decision, but I happen to be a supporter also."
A judge found that Trump and executives at his real estate company lied about the worth of his properties on financial statements to secure more favorable loan conditions from banks and other companies.
The statements claimed that the former president's penthouse in Trump Tower was three times its actual size.
The judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million plus interest which brought the judgment to $464 million.
