US President-elect Donald Trump has accumulated more than $500 million in debt, stemming from a civil fraud case in which the politician was ordered to pay daily penalty interest.

This is reported by CBS News.


The publication recalled that in February 2024, a New York state court ordered Trump, his two sons, and the former head of his company to pay $364 million in “unfairly obtained profits,” as well as millions of dollars in interest for past years. The amount, which at that time amounted to $464 million, continued to accrue more than $114 in interest every day. The court’s decision is under appeal.

New York State Attorney General's spokeswoman Letitia James noted that as of December 29, 2024, the total debt exceeded $500 million, and as of Thursday, January 16, it is over $502 million.

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Trump, who personally owes about $490 million of that amount, is seeking a stay from the Mid-Level Appellate Division of the First Department of the New York Court of Appeals. During a hearing in September, at least two of the five judges on the appeals panel were skeptical of the ruling, with one calling it “enormous” and “disturbing.”




However, while the defendants await the panel's decision, which is expected early this year, interest in the case continues to grow.

The court typically releases decisions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and the president-elect's case was not among those released on January 16.

“This means that on Monday, January 20, Trump will likely be sworn in as president with a debt to New York State that exceeds the combined proposed 2025 budget for the state’s sixth and seventh largest cities – Albany and New Rochelle – combined,” notes CBS News.

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Criminal cases and fines

On February 24, 2024, a New York state court formally ordered Donald Trump to pay $454,2 million in restitution for misappropriation of his assets in a civil fraud case brought by the New York Attorney General.

Trump has argued against the debt and the case in which a judge found that he and his company manipulated spreadsheets provided to accountants to squeeze out ratings given to banks and insurers. As a result, Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that the politician and his company received more favorable terms on loans and insurance deals that they would not have otherwise received.

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The judge concluded that the total amount they could owe the state in damages was equal to the amount they received through the scheme, plus interest.

During the trial in 2023, Trump was summoned to court, where he blamed his employees and outside accountants, but said his books were accurate. He claimed that his company not only failed to overstate his assets and net worth, but also “understated” them.

In addition to half a billion dollars in a civil case in New York, Trump also owes more than $88 million to author Jean Carroll after juries in 2023 and 2024 found him guilty of sexual assault and defamation.

The newly elected US president denies all charges and is appealing all three cases.