Donald Trump faces legal and financial woes as he could lose assets in civil fraud case         Expert warns Donald Trump could file for bankruptcy over $464 million debt. — AFP 

Is former US president Donald Trump facing serious financial trouble? Doesn't he have enough resources to pay a massive $464 million due to a civil fraud case?

The ex-president expressed concerns that he might have to let go of portions of his properties at significantly reduced prices to cover the fraud judgment in a case where he was found to have overestimated the values of his properties to deceive lenders and insurers.

In February, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $325 million plus interest, saying, “The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.”

Trump wrote on his Truth Social, "Nobody has ever heard of anything like this before. I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone."

Trump might have to sell some of his valuable properties or even file for bankruptcy to avoid losing everything, the Mirror quoted an expert as saying. Despite claiming to be worth billions, Trump's wealth is largely tied to property, leaving him short on cash to settle his debts.

Moreover, Trump faces some other financial obligations as well. In January, a jury ruled that he must pay $55 million for defaming E. Jean Carroll after her allegations of sexual assault. Trump recently obtained a $91 million bond.

An expert, Dr. Andrew Payne, explained that Trump might have to sell assets to cover the $464 million bill. “Trump selling some of his assets is one option to come up with the $464 million he needs in the next six days following the civil fraud case," Dr Payne said. "Despite his track record of bragging about his wealth, Trump simply doesn’t have the cash to foot this bill. It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to offer his properties up as collateral for an appeal bond, so the sale of a portion of his real estate holdings could be required to free up the funds he needs.

“Trump has used campaign money to fund his legal expenses for the multiple criminal and civil cases he is facing, but that is not an option here - in part because of legal restrictions on the degree of cooperation between political action committees and candidates, and in part because of the amount of money Trump needs to find.”

Explaining what could happen to Trump if he fails to come up with the money by the deadline, Dr Payne said: “If he fails to come up with the money by the deadline, the appeals court may yet decide to pause the judgment, which would give Trump more time. It might also choose to accept a much lower bond figure, which he could more easily cover.

“Failing that, things could get ugly. Trump is facing the serious prospect that some of his properties involved in the case could be seized. He could also have some of his financial assets frozen.

“Trump could file for bankruptcy for the corporate entities implicated in the case – a mechanism he has employed in the past, when he was not a national political figure – but that would be a politically risky option.”

With all the limited options that Trump has, Dr Payne said that he is a different person. The expert said, "He has cultivated an extraordinarily loyal base of supporters who, time and again, have forgiven or overlooked a range of alleged misdeeds and misdemeanors. This is, after all, the candidate whose polling numbers increased after he was indicted with criminal charges.

“To be sure, this will be a source of huge personal embarrassment to the former president. But, having swept aside all challengers in his party and already secured the Republican nomination in the race for the White House, it seems likely that he will look for political upside in his financial misfortune. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the myriad accusations leveled against him are politically motivated, and any attempt by the court to collect the judgment will be cast as the latest development in the “lawfare” campaign waged against him by “crooked” judges.

“From a wider perspective, however, it does place the Trump campaign’s financial vulnerabilities into the political spotlight. The Biden campaign recently announced that it had $155 million cash on hand, more than triple the amount that the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee had to hand, and the largest war chest amassed by any Democratic presidential candidate at this point in the cycle.

“Assuming Trump can ride out this latest crisis, the financial advantage enjoyed by the Biden campaign could turn out to be the bigger political problem facing the former president as the general election campaign heats up.”