President Trump has been ordered by a New York State judge to pay $2 million to a group of charities, settling a lawsuit alleging Trump misused his foundation for personal and political gain, according to a court document filed on Thursday.
The case, brought against Trump and his three eldest children by the New York State Attorney General’s office last year, alleged that the foundation had misspent funds and ignored their oversight duties under New York charity laws.
Judge Saliann Scarpulla also signed off on the agreement to shut down the Trump Foundation, a process that began last year.
Attorney General Letitia James had asked for $2.8 million in restitution but that was cut to $2 million.
In addition to that payment, another $1.8 million that remained in the foundation’s coffers will be divided up evenly and distributed to eight charities, including the Children’s Aid Society, the United Negro College Fund, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, according to the attorney general’s office.
The Trump Foundation said in a statement that it was “pleased to donate an additional $2 million” to what it called “worthy organizations.”
The lawsuit was filed in June and it alleged “persistently illegal conduct” at the foundation.
The order for Trump to pay comes follows extensive reporting in The Washington Post about alleged wrongdoing at the foundation. The reporting documented how Trump used the charity’s money to pay legal settlements for his private business, to buy art for one of his clubs, and to make a prohibited political donation.
Trump denied that the organization had done anything wrong.
Source - msn
