Daily Voice
By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice
A New York appellate court struck down the half-billion-dollar penalty imposed on President Donald Trump and his company for lying about his wealth and inflating property values.
The state supreme court's Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, overturned the roughly $527 million fine known as "disgorgement" on Thursday, Aug. 21. The appellate court justices were split on whether New York Attorney General Letitia James proved The Trump Organization committed fraud, but the majority said the fine was "excessive" and unconstitutional.
James can appeal the decision to New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals.
"We agree with [the state] Supreme Court that the Attorney General acted well within her lawful power in bringing this action, and that she vindicated a public interest in doing so," the court ruling said. "We also find that Supreme Court properly ruled only on claims that are timely under the applicable statute of limitations. However, we would modify the remedy ordered by Supreme Court.
"While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well-crafted to curb defendants' business culture, the court's disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution."
Trump praised the decision in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
"TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!" he posted. "I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before."
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025.
The decision wipes out a massive penalty originally ordered in February 2024, CBS News reported. Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump, his sons, and company executives misrepresented his wealth and exaggerated property values over a decade.
Engoron had ordered Trump to pay nearly $364 million in "ill-gotten gains." The total rises to more than $500 million after adding years of interest.
During the trial, Engoron accused Trump and his company of presenting "blatantly false financial data" and said Trump's "complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological." Trump testified in November 2023, claiming that his company actually undervalued his assets.
Eric Trump, the executive vice president of The Trump Organization, celebrated the overturning of the fine.
"Total victory in the sham NY Attorney General case!!!" he said in a social media post. "After 5 years of hell, justice prevailed!"
President Donald Trump during a meeting with several European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025.
In a separate civil case, Trump was found liable for sexually abusing author E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s. A jury awarded her $5 million, along with $83.3 million in a separate defamation suit.
Trump is also the only President who is a convicted felon. He was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to pay "hush money" to porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Trump was also indicted twice for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, along with a third indictment for mishandling classified documents. Two federal cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election, while the state case regarding Georgia's 202 election has stalled.
The ruling throwing out the fine keeps in place the non-monetary penalties imposed on Trump and his company, CNBC reported.
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