NEW YORK, March 19, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump faced having assets
seized in a humiliating blow to his carefully cultivated image as a self-made
tycoon as his lawyers acknowledged Monday he doesn't have the cash to appeal
a $464 million fine for fraudulently inflating his wealth.

Trump -- the Republican candidate for November's US presidential election --
intends to challenge the judgment imposed by a New York civil court in
February, which would force an automatic stay of enforcement.

But first he must put the money into an account managed by the appeals court
or post a bond in the full amount, and 30 insurance underwriters have
rejected his pleas for assistance, his lawyers said in a new filing.

"We will fight and defeat this Hoax," Trump said in a vituperative statement
Monday night, blasting the case as a "witch hunt" against him.

His cash crunch raises the possibility that the state of New York could begin
seizing the former president's property as soon as next Monday unless the
court -- known as the First Department of the Appellate Division -- agrees to
a delay.

"Defendants have faced what have proven to be insurmountable difficulties in
obtaining an appeal bond for the full $464 million," Trump Organization
general counsel Alan Garten said in a filing to the court.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and his company had unlawfully inflated
his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank
loans or insurance terms.

Last month the judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million plus interest while
his sons Eric and Don Jr. were told to hand over more than $4 million each.

Trump managed to put together a separate bond earlier this month for $91.6
million as he appeals a sexual assault and defamation judgment in a lawsuit
brought by New York writer E. Jean Carroll.

But his lawyers said the leading bond providers all had internal policies
preventing them from accepting real estate as collateral in the fraud case,
and many would not exceed limits of $100 million.

That leaves Trump with the only option of posting 120 percent of the bond in
cash and cash equivalents totaling $557.5 million, including fees and
interest.

- 'Tons of CASH'? -

As his lawyers laid out the problems with securing the bond, a defiant Trump
raged in his statement against 2024 election rival President Joe Biden and
those prosecuting the case, and even boasted of his entrepreneurial prowess.

"I built a Magnificent Business, which helped rebuild New York City and
State, with Amazing, Unparalleled, Historic Properties and tons of CASH,
which Crooked Joe Biden and his Maniac Persecutors are trying to wrongfully
and illegally take from me," he said.

The court-set bond, Trump fumed, "is unconstitutional, un-American,
unprecedented, and practically impossible for ANY Company, including one as
successful as mine."

Trump testified in an April 2023 deposition in the same case that he had
"substantially in excess of 400 million in cash" -- but he had already
developed a reputation by then for exaggerating his wealth.

He has asked the appeals court to delay the deadline for posting the bond
until his appeal has been heard, arguing his property empire is worth far
more than the amount he owes.

He also asked to be allowed to secure a bond in a lesser amount but New York
Attorney General Letitia James has objected, arguing that he would "attempt
to evade enforcement of the judgment or to make enforcement more difficult."

Even with a bond, Trump would continue to incur massive interest payments
during what could be a years-long appeal, unless he deposits the full fine
into a court-managed account.