Engoron drew weird conclusions that were based on evidence that was undisputed.
<><>There were no victims of Trump’s alleged fraud,
<><>and no losses resulted from it
<><>The lenders who made the loans performed their own valuations,
<><>they were fully paid back, and made significant profits.
<><>They were satisfied with Trump and wanted to continue doing business with him.
In a sane world, that would have been the end of it. But Democrat New Yorker, Engoron, engaged in legal gymnastics ....w/ a rarely used form of “equitable” relief called “disgorgement” to prevent Trump from keeping what Engeron alleged are “ill-gotten gains.”
Engoron overvalued Trump’s gains to an absurd extent, surpassing anything Trump was accused of.
<><>Engoron ordered Trump to disgorge $168 million
<><>so-called interest payment “savings” that he supposedly gained from certain loans.
<><>Engoron suggested Trump preyed on lenders
<><>that Trump got “lower interest rates” using recourse loans compared to non-recourse loans.
Recourse loans provide more security for lenders and therefore have lower interest rates compared to non-recourse loans.
Engoron’s calculation of disgorgement was based on a false comparison between the two types of loans, resulting in a grossly overvalued amount.
Engoron could have used a proper economic analysis to calculate Trump’s alleged gains accurately. However, doing so would have resulted in zero “ill-gotten gains” for Trump.
The interest rates Trump obtained were based on the lenders’ own valuations, not Trump’s. Therefore, Engoron’s $168 million disgorgement calculation was falsely overvalued by the full amount.
I paid over asking price to make sure I got the property. Now what...will I be sued by those who offered lower because my white privilege allowed me to go higher? Just how many people did I defraud? I was happy with the deal and so was the bank. The property has increased significantly in value in the short time I owned it. Will the previous owner now sue because in retrospect they should have held out for a higher offer?