New York, Feb 17: A New York judge has ruled against Donald Trump, imposing a USD 364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president's wealth.

Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. Donald Trump Hush-Money Case: Judge Sets Date for Former US President’s New York Trial; Atlanta Case Clouded by Tawdry Allegations Against Prosecutor.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a two-and-a-half-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system. Donald Trump Putting Troops at Risk by Threatening To Undermine International Alliance, Warns NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.

Trump's lawyers had said even before the verdict that they would appeal.

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