Trump 'screwed, blued and tattooed' if he can't quickly come up with some cash: economist

Donald Trump needs to scare up some cash — quickly — to pay off his legal judgments if he's going to avoid bankruptcy, an expert said.

The former president faces potentially acute problems retaining liquidity after he was hit with more than $542 million in judgments for fraud and defamation, and market economist Jon Gabrielsen told Newsweek that some reports have erroneously compared Trump's stated cash balances with his growing legal debt.

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

Trump's total company balances are likely less than the amount he owes in fines, Gabrielsen said, which would leave him "screwed, blued, and tattooed" unless he can come up with enough cash to pay those judgments and continue paying the operating costs for his businesses.

"A company cannot pay out down to a balance of zero and continue as a going concern," the Atlanta-based economist said. "It has a large daily cash drain to pay ongoing expenses requiring some amount of 'float' or minimum balance to be maintained."

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A judge rejected Trump's $100 million bond offer in his New York fraud judgment and ordered him to pay the full $454 million penalty by March 25 to begin the appeal process, and he faces possible asset seizure by state Attorney General Letitia James if he fails to pay on time.

Last week, he put up a $91 million bond after a defamation judgment against him regarding comments he made to writer E. Jean Carroll.

"He's in a very tough spot, said Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University. "Aggressive enforcement could wreak havoc on his businesses. The usual course is bankruptcy to protect his assets and businesses."

Trump's lawyers acknowledged the bind he's in when asking Judge Anil Singh to delay a three-year prohibition on his ability to do business in New York, which the judge agreed to do. The restriction had been put in place by the judge in the fraud trial.

"The exorbitant and punitive amount of the Judgment coupled with an unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond," Trump's lawyers wrote in a filing.

"In the absence of a stay on the terms herein outlined, properties would likely need to be sold to raise capital under exigent circumstances, and there would be no way to recover any property sold following a successful appeal and no means to recover the resulting financial losses from the Attorney General," they added.