Judge has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.
Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
I am also confused. Why does the attorney general put forward a civil suit in the first place? Civil court is for parties to seek damages or the other party to do or stop doing actions against contractual obligations.
Or did Trump defraud the city of New York and it is seeking compensation?
Yeah, some of the "other fraud" is tax fraud, so in a very real and direct sense, he defrauded New York. Still doesn't make sense for it to be a civil suit rather than a criminal one, though.
Must be nice to be rich and powerful enough for your decades of major crimes to count as civil infractions 😮💨
Quite simple. Civil liability standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence, which is far less than the standard of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal.
The type of suit depends on the type of law violated and the type of injured party. Civil law vs criminal law, etc.