Donald Trump Tried to Get Bond From Company He Misled About Finances

Donald Trump asked one of the entities he was found liable of deceiving to help cover his New York civil fraud bond.

According to a court filing by the former president's legal team on Monday, Trump has asked a number of sureties to back the $464 million bond needed to appeal Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling that found him, his two adult sons and others associated with the Trump Organization liable of fraud. The lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his codefendants of inflating the value of his company's assets in order to obtain more favorable business loans and insurance terms.

Among the list of entities in Monday's filing included Zurich Insurance Group, which Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at the Trump Organization, was accused of deceiving by claiming that the value of the former president's real estate holdings had been assessed by an independent appraiser. James said in a previous filing that Weisselberg lied to the company while seeking to renew the Trump Organization's coverage.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's office via email for comment on Monday's filing. A spokesperson for Zurich declined to comment on Tuesday.

The former president's lawyers said on Monday that it is a "practical impossibility" to secure the backing for the bond needed to appeal, calling the amount excessive and an "impossible bond requirement." Trump was ordered to pay $355 million total in penalties, which was brought to $454 million after interest. Another $10 million is needed to challenge Engoron's ruling.

"Despite scouring the market," the filing read, "we have been unsuccessful in our effort to obtain a bond for the Judgment Amount for Defendants for the simple reason that obtaining an appeal bond for $464 million is a practical impossibility under the circumstances presented."

Trump remains he is innocent of the accusations against him and his company and claims that his assets and personal net worth are valued much higher than what the documents at the center of his civil fraud case say. The former president has also blamed prosecutors like James for attempting to interfere with his 2024 reelection campaign.

The former president has until March 25 to post the full amount unless an appeals court agrees to allow him to post a bond for a smaller amount. Trump's lawyers previously requested to post a $100 million bond for the time being, but it was denied by New York Judge Anil Singh late last month.

Singh's order did offer Trump a helping hand, however, putting a pause on Engoron's original ruling that barred the former president from taking out loans in the state of New York. The appeals judge also paused Engoron's ruling that banned Trump and his sons—Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—from running their company in the state.

Update 3/19/24, 4:00 p.m. ET: This story has been updated after Zurich Insurance Group declined to comment.