<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Donald Trump "repeatedly" misrepresented his wealth by hundreds of millions to banks and insurers, a New York judge has ruled.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The decision resolves the key claim made by New York's attorney general in her civil lawsuit against the former president.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The documents here clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business," the judge wrote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a major blow for Mr Trump before the case goes to trial next Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An attorney for Mr Trump called the judge's decision "a miscarriage of justice" in a statement on Tuesday evening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Attorney General Letitia James sued Mr Trump last September, accusing him, his two adult sons and the Trump Organization of lying about his net worth and asset values between 2011 and 2021.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms James claimed the defendants issued false business records and financial statements in order to get better terms on bank loans and insurance deals, and to pay less tax.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a trial that will now resolve six remaining claims in her suit, she will seek $250m in penalties and a ban on Mr Trump doing business in his home state.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The non-jury trial is scheduled to begin 2 October and last until at least December.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a pre-trial phase of the case known as summary judgement, Ms James had asked Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York state court in Manhattan to rule on her claims.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She argued that finding certain facts to be beyond dispute would speed up the trial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Defence lawyers for Mr Trump, meanwhile, called for the suit to be thrown out, arguing the public had not been harmed by Mr Trump's actions and the loans in question occurred long ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and on Tuesday dismissed the case in New York as another political "witch hunt" brought by a prosecutor biased against him. He accused the judge of being "highly politicised".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a statement, his lawyers said the decision ignored "basic legal, accounting and business principles".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As part of Tuesday's decision, the Trump Organization was ordered to cancel its New York business licenses and, within 10 days, recommend independent monitors who could oversee that process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That is a legal loss for the New York native, who now lives in Florida.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The judge's ruling will not dissolve his company but could end his control over signature New York properties like the Trump Tower and the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Judge Engoron on Tuesday also denied the Trump team's request to throw out the case, and separately fined five Trump attorneys $7,500 each for making arguments already rejected by the court.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During arguments in court on Friday, a lawyer with Ms James' office said the former president had signed off on statements that overinflated the valuations offered by appraisers his company hired.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Trump attorney Christopher Kise argued doing so showed that Mr Trump was an "investment genius" and "a master at finding value where others see nothing".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Judge Engoron did not buy it. Repeatedly lobbing questions at and interrupting Mr Kise, he at one point banged his fist on the bench and raised his voice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"You cannot make false statements and use them in business - that's what this statute prohibits," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His summary judgment went further, arguing that Mr Trump's behaviour amounted to more than simply bragging about his riches and that he and his company had repeatedly lied about his financial affairs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"In defendants' world, rent-regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air," he wrote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"That is a fantasy world, not the real world."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Trump is still seeking to delay the trial in New York and has sued the judge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An appeals court is set to rule this week on that lawsuit. If it rules against him, Mr Trump will have to fight out the rest of the case in court.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is just one of several legal battles he is enmeshed in as he campaigns for a rematch with President Joe Biden next year and a return to the White House.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Far and away the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination, he is also facing 91 felony charges across four criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>