From ABC7NY: An appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling Thursday in New York state’s lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth.
The decision came seven months after the Republican returned to the White House. A panel of five judges in New York’s mid-level Appellate Division said the verdict, which stood to cost Trump over $515 million and rock his real estate empire, was “excessive.”
The case had been brought against Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who had campaigned on the promise to “get Trump.” James accused Trump of padding financial statements he gave to lenders and insurance companies, and misrepresenting the value of his properties.
For example, James claimed Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was only worth $18 million.
After a bizarre trial last year, Trump was found “guilty”, and Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties. The total has reached over $515 million, with interest, while Trump was appealing the case.
The report explains:
Engoron also imposed other punishments, such as banning Trump and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. Those provisions have been on pause during Trump’s appeal, and he was able to hold off collection of the money by posting a $175 million bond.
The court, which was split on the merits of the lawsuit and the lower court’s fraud finding, dismissed the penalty Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
The appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, took an unusually long time to rule, weighing Trump’s appeal for nearly 11 months after oral arguments last fall. Normally, appeals are decided in a matter of weeks or a few months.
🚨BREAKING: Federal Appeals court just THREW-OUT President Trump’s $364 MILLION dollar fraud penalty case.
In February of 2024, a New York judge ordered Trump and his companies to pay $360+ million in penalties claiming they “duped banks”
HUGE WIN for President Trump! pic.twitter.com/9F9iuJvrut
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) August 21, 2025
BREAKING: an Appeals Court has thrown out President Trump’s $364 million civil penalty!
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) August 21, 2025
#BreakingNews A New York appeals court has thrown out a half-billion dollar civil fraud judgment against President Trump, his family and his company https://t.co/oQ9uX7NECi
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) August 21, 2025
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