Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Images
- NY took Trump and his bond underwriters to court Monday, three buildings south of his criminal trial.
- The parties agreed to limit Trump's access to $175M collateralizing his civil fraud appeal bond.
- The NY Attorney General's Office had been concerned that Trump maintained some control of the cash.
Lawyers for Donald Trump and the New York Attorney General's Office struck a deal Monday that will now keep the GOP frontrunner from having any access to the cash collateral for his $175 million civil-fraud bond.
The agreement reached in civil court in Manhattan essentially moves the all-cash collateral to a Trump-proof lockbox. Only the bond underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, has the key.
Previously, Trump and Knight shared control of the cash, a sticking point for the AG's office.
Monday's agreement was reached during a 20-minute huddle among the lawyers, Law360 reported.
The hearing revealed that the cash, held in a Charles Schwab account pledged to KSIC, has already earned Trump $700,000 in interest, the outlet reported.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
The 10 a.m. bond hearing overlapped with the start of opening statements in Trump's criminal hush-money trial, held on the same Lower Manhattan street, two courthouses to the north.
The bond keeps AG Letitia James from potentially seizing Trump's assets to satisfy the more than $454 million he owes the state after losing last year's civil fraud trial.
Trump is appealing the penalty, which continues to accrue interest at a rate of $1 million every nine days. On Monday, his debt to New York totaled $460 million.
The monetary judgment and other penalties — including a ban on Trump running a New York business for three years, currently on hold due to the appeal — were imposed in February.
State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who presided over the nearly 11-week fraud trial, found that for a decade, Trump, his eldest sons, and the Trump Organization exaggerated his net worth in financial statements used to secure more than $400 million in loans.