Donald Trump’s Manhattan skyscraper Trump Tower could be seized if the ex-President does not pay his hefty fine and ignores a ban on him operating a business in New York, experts have claimed.
Trump, 77, was slapped with a $355million fine package after a New York judge found him liable of fraud on Friday.
Judge Arthur Engoron’s verdict came as a major blow to the property mogul.
The 45th President, who is also facing a number of other legal challenges, is hoping to become just the second Commander-in-Chief to serve two non-consecutive terms in the Oval Office.
Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower
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Engoron’s damning verdict in the civil trial followed months of testimonies from Trump and his three eldest children.
He concluded Trump’s company handed in “blatantly false” information to obtain more favourable loans.
Trump is expected to appeal the “egregious verdict”, the ex-President’s lawyers have claimed.
However, experts suggest there was little recourse to avoid the financial penalties.
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The public entrance to Trump Tower is on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan
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The situation threatens Trump’s property portfolio, including the gold-plated Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, 40 Wall Street and the Trump Park Avenue hotel.
Will Thomas, a business law professor at the University of Michigan, said: “The business in many respects is still owned by the family, but it is out of the family’s control.”
Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, also told The Washington Post: “This is going to be a business that will look very different.
“It won’t be a family-run business. It can be a family-owned business, but it won’t be a family-run business for the next several years.”
However, the hefty fines could deliver another threat to Trump.
Donald Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nominationREUTERSThe 77-year-old’s company will now see its financial reporting overseen by the independent monitor and a compliance director.
Trump divested some of his property holdings into more liquid assets since entering politics.
A number of financial penalties, including the one as a result of the civil sexual assault case involving magazine columnist E Jean Carroll, could wipe out the former President’s disposable cash.
He could even have to sell a property to cover the costs.
Trump described the decision as “corrupt” and a politically-motivated “witch-hunt”.
He is reportedly considering keeping the business within family hands, with daughter Ivanka and wife Melania in the running.