Judge said Mar-a-Lago's valuation was 'fraudulent.' Trump still fuming over $355M hit

Donald Trump continued Monday to fume about the staggering financial penalty a New York judge imposed on him and his two sons on Feb. 16.

In one post on his social media platform on Monday, Feb. 19, Trump demanded in capital letters that "political prosecutions" "must stop immediately." In another missive, Trump wrote that his "financial statements were understated, not overstated. And he insisted that his Mar-a-Lago club was "worth 50 to 100 times" the $18 million arrived at by the New York state court.

"They didn't even include 'brand value,' known and accepted to be worth many billions of dollars," Trump complained.

Trump's businesses: Why New York judge concluded that Trump's valuation of Mar-a-Lago was 'fraudulent'

Trump's grievances followed a Feb. 16 ruling by New York Judge Arthur Engoron that Trump and his Trump Organization business empire, among other serious infractions, offered a "fraudulent" valuation of his famed Palm Beach club and residence over a decade.

Engoron's conclusions were included in a 92-page document in which he ordered the former president to pay a staggering $354.8 million in disgorgement of ill-gotten profits. The judge also ordered Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, to pay just over $4 million each.

"Accordingly, there can be no mistake that Donald Trump's valuation of Mar-a-Lago from 2011-2021 was fraudulent," Engoron wrote.

Fallout from New York case followed Trump throughout the weekend

Commentary on the New York case, and speculation and debate about Trump's ability to pay his legal obligations, dominated the headlines and followed him throughout the weekend.

Elaine Cardone, the spouse of Miami-based real estate investor Grant Cardone, started a GoFundMe page to raise money and support for Trump. But her endeavor came under criticism on X, formerly Twitter, and the account had raised just over $450,000 by Monday morning, according to published reports.

On Saturday, Trump traveled to Philadelphia where he unexpectedly appeared at "Sneaker Con", a traveling shoe collector convention, to tout his shiny gold high-top sneakers branded with a "T" and a U.S. flag-like design.

“This is something that I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years. And I think it’s going to be a big success,” Trump said at the event, according to published news reports.

New York fraud trial: Could Trump lose control of West Palm Beach golf club? Mar-a-Lago?

Trump's appearance elicited a mixed reaction in the convention hall as he was both cheered and booed during his remarks, even acknowledging that there was "emotion" in the room.

He later posted on his social media platform that the $399 shoe had sold out.

Trump's appearance at Sneaker Con drew mockery from President Joe Biden's presidential campaign Saturday afternoon.

“Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll get to any Air Force Ones ever again for the rest of his life,” the campaign said in a statement about Trump's Sneaker Con reveal.

No indication ruling in New York will change how PBC officials assess or tax Mar-a-Lago

New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought the case against Trump, hailed the judge's findings in brief comments on Friday.

"Today we proved that no one is above the law. No matter how rich, powerful or politically connected you are, everyone must play by the same rules," she said. "We have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the marketplace and for years Donald Trump engaged in deceptive business practices and tremendous fraud."

Immediately after James spoke, Trump appeared before TV cameras at Mar-a-Lago, saying he would appeal the decision while slamming James and Ergoron, both of whom he has caustically attacked in the past year in public pronouncements and social media writings.

"I just want to say this. You built a great country. There was no fraud," Trump said angrily, adding he paid more than $300 million in taxes. "The banks all got their money, 100%. They love Trump. They testified that Trump is a great, great customer, one of our best customers. They testified beautifully. And the judge knows that."

During the proceedings, James also taunted the former president in a filing in which she called Trump "a self-proclaimed expert on real estate" who believes he "knows his properties better than anyone."

The judge's findings in the civil business fraud case focused on key Trump properties, including his former Washington, D.C. hotel. Trump's other Florida holdings, including his Jupiter golf club and high-profile Doral resort and hotel, also came under scrutiny.

The dispute over how the Trumps valued Mar-a-Lago and their other Florida possessions factored into Engoron's decision only on how much of what he called their ill-gotten profits the former president and his sons would have to return. There is no indication the decision in the New York case will have any bearing on the properties' assessments or taxes levied by local authorities, however.

Still, the judge agreed with the New York attorney general who argued in a filing last year that: "From 2011-2021, defendants valued Mar-a-Lago based on the false premise that the property could be sold as a private residence when years earlier Trump conveyed his rights to develop Mar-a-Lago for any usage other than commercial usage as a club."

Why New York judge ruled that Mar-a-Lago valuations were 'fraudulent'

Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and private club, dubbed the "Southern White House" during his presidency, drew significant attention and debate during a year's worth of legal proceedings.

Engoron pointed out that in 1995 Trump, then a real estate mogul, "gave up the right to use Mar-a-Lago for any purpose other than as a social club" by agreeing to a "Deed of Conservation and Preservation."

Seven years later, the order noted Trump also "granted a conservation easement to the National Trust for Historic Preservation." Engeron wrote that the agreement placed limits on further alterations to the property, including being able to subdivide the land for "any purpose," among them building single-family homes. That agreement also restricted the interior renovations that could be necessary to boost its value in a future sale.

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Trump agreed to the restrictions, the judge wrote, to "significantly lower property taxes on Mar-a-Lago."

When preparing the valuations on Mar-a-Lago, however, the "premise" was that the compound "could be sold as a private residence to an individual," even "as a single-family residence," regardless of "the deeded prohibitions against such use in perpetuity."

Trump rails at judgment, has claimed Mar-a-Lago worth as much as $1B

Trump called the judgment "ridiculous" and tantamount to "weaponization against a political opponent" in an election year.

"It's a ridiculous order. Listen, a fine of $355 million for doing a perfect job," Trump said. "For having paid back a loan with no defaults, no problem."

Trump has said that his valuations were "conservative." During the legal battles, he said the Mar-a-Lago property was worth as much as $1 billion.

That prompted Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz, whose district covers parts of Palm Beach County in which Mar-a-Lago is located, to call for a major increase in Mar-a-Lago's property taxes.

In an October letter to Palm Beach County's property appraiser, Moskowitz wrote: "Will you be amending the property value in line with the Trump family's belief that the property is worth well over a billion dollars?"

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump, stung by New York case, demands legal cases 'stop immediately'