After being prohibited from doing business in the state of New York for three years, Donald Trump’s wife, former first lady Melania Trump, may be able to preserve his real estate company.
Following a months-long trial in which New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the former president and his company, The Trump Organization, of misleading banks and insurers for years in order to secure better financial conditions, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled against Trump on Friday. $364 million in fines were imposed on Trump and his allies, including his two eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr.
The ruling also bars Trump and former associates Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney from “serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation” for three years. Donald Jr. and Eric, both of whom serve as executives in their father’s organization, are also banned from conducting business for the next two years.
Trump’s businesses could be saved by his other family members, however, such as wife Melania Trump or eldest daughter Ivanka, who left the family company in 2017 to serve in Trump’s White House. Legal experts previously assessed that the former president would be able to hold on to his properties even if barred from conducting business by transferring his company to his family members not included in James’ case.
“Engoron’s order prevents Trump and his sons from serving as officers or directors in New York, but they can still be shareholders,” Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Newsweek on Friday. “That means they can own the companies, but they can’t run them.”
