Donald Trump's Properties Are 'All Leveraged,' Michael Cohen Says

As former President Donald Trump continues to face ongoing legal troubles, his properties are "all leveraged," according to Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.

Trump, the presumed 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was recently fined roughly $355 million, plus interest, by Judge Arthur Engoron in his New York civil fraud case, which accused him, his two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, The Trump Organization and two firm executives of fraudulently overvaluing assets to secure more favorable bank loans and taxation deals. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and claimed it was politically motivated, vowing to appeal the verdict.

Engoron's judgment comes weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her during an incident in the 1990s. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in those cases and vowed to appeal them as well.

In his case against Carroll, Trump posted a $91.6 million bond last week as part of his appeal, which consisted of the $83.3 million judgment, along with statutory interest added by the State of New York.

On Friday, Cohen took to his podcast Mea Culpa to discuss Trump's bid for the White House, adding that the former president is losing "most of his money."

"I think we are going to see him lose everything, he's already lost his mind and most of his money. Millions and millions in legal fees alone. I mean his properties are all leveraged and just moments after the predator in chief put up the bond to appeal the E. Jean Carroll defamation judgment," Cohen said.

Newsweek has reached out to Cohen and Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

Cohen's comments come after some have warned that the money Trump needs to pay in damages could cause financial issues for him.

With the civil fraud ruling and the two judgments in Carroll's defamation case, the former president would be responsible for approximately $542 million in judgments. According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, the interest payments in his civil fraud case totaled $99 million and would "continue to increase every single day until it is paid."

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, previously told Newsweek that the combination of these two cases could trigger bankruptcy.

"Only Trump knows for sure what his finances actually are, but the combination of the New York civil fraud case and the E. Jean Carroll cases could be a one-two punch that triggers a bankruptcy. However, I doubt ex-President Trump would want to file for bankruptcy during an election year," she said.

Jon Gabrielsen, an Atlanta-based market economist, previously told Newsweek that Trump's liquidity problems may be more acute than they first appear, as businesses need extra cash in reserve to avoid bankruptcy.

Gabrielsen said Trump was "​​screwed, blued, and tattooed" unless he can come up with more cash to pay his court awards, adding that many are erroneously comparing Trump's stated cash balances with the amount he has to pay from his civil cases.

He continued by stating that a company is not legally permitted to simply use up all its cash reserves to pay for a lawsuit, and must keep a float for expenses.

"You are not bankrupt when your balance hits zero, you are bankrupt when your balance falls below the amount of float you need in order to continue as a going concern," Gabrielsen said.