New York Attorney General Letitia James has requested an increase in the amount that Donald Trump and his company should pay in the ongoing civil case, raising it from $250 million to $370 million.
The request was made in a brief filed on Friday in Manhattan, as the trial nears its conclusion with closing arguments scheduled for January 11.
According to a press release issued at the start of the lawsuit, Trump is accused of inflating his net worth through various deceptive means, including exaggerating the value of his real estate holdings. The release stated that the monetary damages he would be liable for would be "at least two hundred and fifty million dollars," with the final amount to be determined during the trial.
In the recent filing, Attorney General James alleged that Trump employed numerous deceptive schemes to inflate asset values and conceal facts, stating that these actions were so egregious that they could not be explained innocently.
In response, Trump's attorneys argued that there was no evidence in the record to support the claim that the terms or pricing of any loans would have been affected by the alleged misstatements. They further emphasized that no witness from any bank or other source had testified to this during the trial.
The case is being presided over by Judge Arthur Engoron, who has already ruled in favor of New York on several aspects of the case. In November, Judge Engoron issued a gag order against Trump's attorneys, which was later appealed and reinstated. The final verdict will be delivered at a later date.
In October, Trump criticized the trial, referring to Attorney General James as a "racist" and a "horror show," and claiming that she had pursued the case in order to further her political ambitions. This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
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