Trump's $91M E. Jean Carroll bond was put up by company linked to fraud trial

The company underwriting the $91.6 million bond former President Donald Trump paid Friday in his civil defamation case is part of the insurance group whose appraisal of Trump’s triplex in 2010 was foiled because “Mrs. Trump was sleeping,” court and federal records show.

The Federal Insurance Company secured Trump’s bond Friday in the New York defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll, the writer the former president has been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming, court records show.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show the company is a principal member of Chubb, a century-old insurance corporation based in New Jersey with a history of working with Trump.

The Chubb insurance company appears in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ complaint against Trump in his civil fraud trial, during which he was found liable for upwards of $450 million in damages.

At the heart of that fraud case stood the Trump Tower triplex, the size of which New York prosecutors argued had been fraudulently inflated to increase its appraisal value.

“When the Chubb insurance agency sent an appraiser to determine the value of Trump’s triplex apartment in 2010, he was not allowed to see the primary bedroom, according to James’s complaint.

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James quotes the appraiser’s summary, in which he notes he was only allowed a brief tour of the New York City apartment, led by Trump himself.

“Although I was able to spend slightly longer [than] 15 minutes in the house, the appointment was conducted at a speed directed by Mr. Trump and there was not ample time to take measurement while on site,” the appraiser wrote, according to the complaint. “I was unable to see the master bedroom and Mrs. Trump's dressing room per request of Mr. Trump (Mrs. Trump was sleeping).”

James’ complaint also notes, ““Seven years later, Forbes — citing real estate records — published a story titled ‘Donald Trump Has Been Lying About the Size of His Penthouse.’”

Chubb is also tied to Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, according to a Bloomberg report on accusations that the property improperly used Chicago River water for its cooling system.

An Illinois appellate court ruled in August that Chubb was not obligated to defend the hotel from an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency lawsuit, according to the report.

Update [4:45 p.m]: Chubb responded to Raw Story's inquiry with the following comment:

"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on client-specific information. Our surety division provides appeal bonds in the normal course of business. These bonds are an ordinary and important part of the American justice system, protecting the rights of both defendants and plaintiffs. For defendants, appeal bonds ensure the opportunity to exercise the right to appeal an adverse judgement, which might otherwise be lost in the absence of a bond. For plaintiffs, appeal bonds ensure that they will receive the damages when an award is confirmed on appeal, eliminating the need to chase a defendant for payment. This guaranty provides peace of mind as a plaintiff awaits finality in the appeals process."