Donald Trump At Risk Of Losing Assets After Filing Appeal Over $454M Judgment

Donald Trump and his team of lawyers have filed an appeal over the almost half-a-billion-dollar ruling in his New York civil fraud case.

The billionaire mogul is looking to overturn the judgment to prevent himself from losing a chunk of his wealth.

In the meantime, he is expected to get a stay of judgment while he appeals the case. Failure to do so before March 25 would give the New York Attorney General's office the right to enforce the judgment.

On Monday, Trump's lawyers filed an appeal at the appellate court in New York to overturn Judge Arthur Engoron's decision to slam the former president with an initial $355 million fine for inflating the value of his assets in financial documents.

Due to added interest, the fine has increased to nearly $454 million and will continue to rise by $112,000 per day until Trump pays up.

Per reports, Trump's lawyers stated in the filing that they want the appellate court to consider whether Engoron "committed errors of law and/or fact" and if he "acted in excess" of his powers as a judge in New York.

If the ruling is eventually upheld, Trump's fortune is expected to suffer a massive decline, as he might be required to sell off some assets to pay off the fine. However, there is still hope of the case being further appealed at the courts of appeal, the state's highest court.

Trump's appeal was expected, as he vowed to do so following the verdict, which he termed an "unAmerican judgment." At the time, he had also slammed Engoron and the New York attorney general's office, led by Leticia James.

He claimed that Engoron was "crooked" and described James as "corrupt," adding that the ruling was a case of "election interference" and "witch hunting."

Prior to a court date for the appeal, Trump would need a legal mechanism termed a stay to halt enforcement of the judgment.

The Republican presidential front-runner could automatically secure a stay by putting up money, assets, or an appeal bond covering his debts. Alternatively, he might obtain a ruling from the appeals court, which could come with a lower bond or none.

The former president has until March 25 to secure a stay, or he risks his assets being seized by the New York attorney general's office. It is unclear if he has done so or is in the process of getting one.

James previously told ABC News reporters that she is prepared to seize Trump's assets if he is unable to raise the money to pay his fine. She noted that she has her eyes set on Trump's 40 Wall Street building.

"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," James said.

"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," the New York state AG added.

James also slammed Trump's claims that his case had "no victims," noting that "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 continued. "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."

The ruling from Engoron has caused so much back and forth on social media about whether it was right or wrong.

While some sided with Trump and slammed the verdict as biased, others were in favor of it and asked the former president to pay the fine himself after MAGA supporters opened a GoFundMe page for him.

The GoFundMe in question has since hit $1 million and is heading towards $1.3 million after 22.4k donations were made. Calls for it to be shut down were made, but GoFundMe said in a statement to Newsweek that the "fundraiser is currently within our terms of service."

According to Elena Cardone, the individual who launched the page, the money raised won't be used for anything other than what it was intended for.

"We want to be clear about the intended use of the funds raised. Every dollar will be used only to cover fines related to the New York civil fraud case, its appeal, and any related expenses," she said in a statement on the page.

Trump himself has yet to personally acknowledge the existence of the GoFundMe page launched on his behalf.