U.S. Judge Wants Monitor To Check Trump's Organization

A Manhattan judge said Thursday he will name an independent monitor “to ensure there is no further fraud” at former President Donald Trump’s company, restricting its ability to freely make deals, sell assets and change its corporate structure, Michael R. Sisak reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Attorney General Letitia James says the company is continuing to engage in fraud and has taken steps to dodge potential penalties from her lawsuit.

Judge Arthur Engoron ordered an outside watchdog as he presides over a lawsuit in which New York’s attorney general alleges Trump and the Trump Organization misled banks and others about the value of prized assets, including golf courses and hotels bearing his name.

Attorney General Letitia James says the company is continuing to engage in fraud and has taken steps to dodge potential penalties from her lawsuit, such as incorporating a new, similarly named entity — Trump Organization LLC — in September, just before the lawsuit was filed.

Engoron wrote in an 11-page order that Trump and the Trump Organization “demonstrated propensity to engage in persistent fraud” and that appointing an outside monitor “is the most prudent and narrowly tailored mechanism to ensure there is no further fraud or illegality” pending the resolution of the lawsuit.

James, a Democrat, is seeking $250 million and a permanent ban on Trump, a Republican, doing business in the state. Trump, who contends James’ investigation of him is a “political witch hunt,” issued a statement Thursday ripping Engoron as her “puppet judge.”

He urged the courts to “do the right thing and stop this inquisition.”

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