Attorneys for Donald Trump and his co-defendants in New York’s civil fraud trial last Monday filed a notice of appeal of the $354.9 million judgment that is growing by over $111,000 a day for each day it goes unpaid, Forbes reported.
When Judge Arthur Engoron formally entered the judgment on February 23, Trump already owed $454.2 million due to the 9 percent interest rate Engoron ordered on fines imposed in March 2019, May 2022, and June 2023, increasing the total penalty by $99 million.
The daily rate of interest now stands at $111,984 as it includes both the original judgment and the $99 million in interest already accrued.
This means that the amount Donald Trump owes the state of New York could increase by $3.4 million a month, leaving him with an additional $40.9 million in interest after a year.
Even while the appeal process moves forward, Trump will continue to accrue interest. The only way to stop it would be to post what is known as an appeals bond.
This appeals bond, which would cover the total amount he owes plus a percentage of the interest as it continues to accrue, would be placed into a court-controlled bank account.
If Trump had posted the appeals bond the day after filing the notice to appeal, the total amount he would have owed would have been $454.6 million.
By Friday, March 1, the total amount was $454.9 million.
So far, Trump has not posted the appeals bond, and the notice to appeal made no mention of it.
Currently, Trump has 30 days from February 23 when Engoron formally entered the judgment to post an appeals bond.
However, in a motion filed on February 23, Trump’s attorneys requested that Judge Engoron extend the time he has to post the appeals bond to 30 days after his motions to reduce the size of the verdict have been decided.
If Trump does not post an appeals bond within those 30 days, New York State Attorney General Letitia James can begin seizing Trump’s assets.
