Trump Business Fraud Ruling Sparks Jokes About Trump Tower’s Future

Former President Donald Trump’s legal blow in New York on Friday has sparked jokes about the future of his real estate assets, including his 58-story Manhattan apartment complex, Trump Tower.

The former president, alongside his former business associates and two eldest sons, were ordered to pay over $364 million in fines after New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, liable for misleading lenders and insurers to obtain favorable treatment. Trump and his legal team have called the ruling, which stems from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, as “partisan” and “corrupt.”

Black limousines pass in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, New York. Social media users made jokes about the future of Trump Tower in light of former President Donald Trump’s legal… Black limousines pass in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, New York. Social media users made jokes about the future of Trump Tower in light of former President Donald Trump’s legal blow in his business fraud case Friday. More Robert Alexander/Getty Images

The ruling has garnered plenty of attention over social media, with several users poking fun at the idea of Trump losing ownership of his prized real estate empire. The Lincoln Project, a political action committee (PAC) made up of anti-Trump Republicans, shared a photo on X, formerly Twitter, of the former president’s Trump Tower with a photoshopped “Spirit Halloween” banner across its building name.

“BREAKING: Trump Org,” the PAC wrote in its post.

Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump White House aid who has been openly critical of the former president since serving in office, wrote on X as well, “They changing the name of Trump Tower to Chump Tower?”

Another X user suggested that Trump Tower would be “an awesome place for a multilevel Laser Tag arena.. just sayin’.” Podcast host Joanne Carducci, better known on social media as JoJoFromJerz, wrote on X, “[New York] should turn Trump Tower into a homeless shelter.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.

Engoron wrote in Friday’s order that Trump and his business had inflated the value of several of his assets, including Trump Tower, which the former president had previously valued as if it was a 30,000-square-foot building. Property records say that the triplex apartment complex is only roughly 10,996 square feet.

On top of a hefty fine, Engoron’s ruling also bars Trump and two former Trump Organization executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, from conducting business in the state of New York for the next three years. His two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, were banned for the next two years.

The judge also extended the role of Barbara Jones, the court’s independent monitor who has been observing the Trump Organization for several months. Jones will remain the court’s eyes and ears on Trump’s company for the next three years, and Engoron gave her the authority to decide on any “restructuring and potential dissolution” of the former president’s business licenses in the future.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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