Trump will challenge judge's definition of fraud in $370 million penalty: attorney

Donald Trump will appeal the $355 million judgment in his New York fraud trial by challenging judge Arthur Engoron definition of the crime.

New York Attorney general Letitia James sued the former president and his two adults sons, along with the Trump Organization and two top executives, seeking $370 million in penalties for habitually inflating the value of real estate to obtain more favorable loans, but one of his attorneys told Newsweek that Trump would challenge the judge who found him liable for fraud at the outset of his trial.

"The case raises serious legal and constitutional questions regarding 'fraud' claims/findings without any actual fraud," said attorney Chris Kise.

Engoron imposed the financial penalty Friday and barred Trump and his longtime executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years, and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were each ordered to pay more than $4 million and banned from doing business in the state for two years.

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Kise said the appeal would be filed within 30 days, and legal experts say Trump would have to show the attorney general does not have the authority to punish him without showing six traditional elements of fraud – intent, making false statements of fact, reasonable reliance by the victims, causation and damages.

"I think he has a strong argument that when the attorney general seeks to punish for past use, rather than prevent future use, she would have to show all of the traditional elements of fraud," said Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University.

James will argue that New York executive order 63.12 gives the attorney general the power to prosecute fraud without showing that all six elements are present.

"Judge Engoron ruled in the summary judgment order that, under 63.12, the attorney general does not have to show any of those elements—a showing of falsity is enough," Germain said.