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New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced on April 4 that the owner, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, Billionaire Trump supporter Don Hankey is properly licensed in the state.
Mr. Knight and Mr. Trump’s attorneys said in a new filing that the bond is backed by Mr. Trump’s Charles Schwab brokerage account, which has more than $175 million in cash. . The filing also alleges that Knight is properly licensed, including a statement from former New York State Insurance Commissioner Gregory V. Serio that Knight is qualified to do business in New York State.
Alan Garten, general counsel for the Trump Organization, said the filing proves that “Mr. Knight is fully authorized to enter into this transaction and the bonds are 100% cash backed.” said.
But some experts said the application may not fully answer all of James’ concerns about the bond. Adam Pollock, a former New York assistant attorney general familiar with bond issues, said that while the filing moves the issue “in the right direction,” it remains “overly complex” and calls for a thorough investigation by Engoron’s government. He said there is a high possibility that it will be encouraged.
“There continue to be serious questions as to whether this bond actually secures the Attorney General’s sentence,” Pollock said. “Judge Engoron clearly intends to hold a detailed hearing to investigate this matter.”
Mr. Pollock, for example, cited documents in his filing that referred to a contract with another company. Assisted with $91 million bail in defamation lawsuit.
A person close to the matter, who requested anonymity due to confidentiality concerns, acknowledged that some of the filings were “typos.” This person said the document was from a template used for bail in defamation cases and that the new application should have been changed to refer to Knight Specialty Insurance Company.
Hankey said she believed the court filing should resolve James’ concerns. He has said he became involved only after other bond companies declined to work with Trump, and his lawyers said he initially needed to secure more than $450 million in bonds. It is said that another company turned down the offer, but the amount was later reduced.
“It’s unfortunate that 20 of New York’s largest insurance companies have collectively decided not to supply this bond,” Hankey said.
Mr Hankey said he had no regrets about supplying the bonds as it was “the right thing to do”. He said he had secured a “modest fee” to back the bond, but declined to provide details other than to say it was a “small but significant percentage,” thanks to collateral from President Trump. He emphasized that he believes it was a good business deal. .
A person familiar with the matter spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential agreement, which predicted a 1% bond fee and Mr. Trump could earn interest on $175 million at about 5%. said. It is worth using a bond company.
Under the terms of the deal, Mr. Trump granted Mr. Knight a security interest giving him control of the funds and required Mr. Trump to increase the amount if the account balance fell below $175 million.
A spokeswoman for the New York attorney general’s office declined to comment.
In February, Engoron was awarded more than $450 million in penalties and interest after President Trump and his business partners submitted inflated financial information to banks and insurance companies for years in order to obtain better interest rates. It was decided that he must pay.
Under state law, Mr. Trump was required to post the full amount of the judgment as bond to prevent Mr. James from starting collecting. Trump’s lawyers successfully argued to the appeals court to reduce his bail, saying Trump was unable to secure the nearly $500 million bond. Mr. Hankey later told The Post and other media outlets that he was in talks with Mr. Trump’s representatives about paying a larger bond.
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