The largest criminal bonds in history have been eclipsed by the bond amount set for Donald Trump in his civil trial involving whether he gave false information about the worth of his assets, in order to get better loan terms from banks.
The $464 million was initially $454 million set by Judge Arthur Engoron in February, but is now $464 million, with amounts the judge says is owed by his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., as well as the Trump Organization and the interest that is accruing since the judge ruled.
Trump has until Monday to come up with the amount, which he says he can’t come up with that fast. Trump says that the judicial system is corrupt and is planning to take Trump Tower, one of his signature New York properties. It’s possible there will be public offering of TruthSocial stock on Monday, which could help him raise the money, as he could cash out some of his shares to pay his bond.
Trump is opening an entity that will trade as “DJT,” and may be valued at more than $5 billion, even though the social media platform has little revenue and loses money.
Trump has called the nearly half-billion-dollar bond in his civil case “unConstitutional” and “un-American.”
“No one’s ever seen a bond this size,” Eric Trump said during a Sunday interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “Every single person, when I came to them saying ‘hey, can I get a half-billion-dollar bond?’ They were laughing. Top executives of large insurance companies had never seen anything of this size.”
According to Southern Bail Bonds, these are the largest bonds ever set in American history:
Donald Trump – Bail amount: $464 million
What makes this bond side unusual is that this is a civil case. “Criminal bail makes sure someone comes back for their court date. The reason Trump’s bond is so big is because of the serious accusations and the large amount of money involved in the lawsuit. This makes it one of the biggest bond amounts in a legal case in the U.S., showing how different and significant it is compared to bail for criminal cases,” Southern Bail Bonds explains.
Sam Bankman-Fried – Bail amount: $250 million (Revoked due to witness tampering, SBF is in prison)
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the crypto trading platform FTX and the Alameda Research hedge fund, was given a $250 million bail, which was revoked when he was found to have tampered with witnesses. Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to Democrat campaigns before his scheme unraveled and he went to prison.
Michael Milken – Bail amount: $250 million
Junk bond trader Michael Milken faced charges for insider trading and in 1989, his $259 million bail set a precedent. He pled guilty to felony charges for having violated U.S. securities laws.
Julius Meinl – Bail amount: $133 million
Julius Meinl V, a British businessman and currently believed to be a resident in Czech Republic, came from a wealthy banking family and put together an illegal scheme involving secret share buybacks and money laundering. On Dec. 31, 2014, Meinl and four other entities of Meinl Bank were charged over a 212 million euro dividend paid out by his private bank. The case is still pending.
Raj Rajaratnam – Bail amount: $100 million
Raj Rajaratnam is a Sri Lankan-American and founder of the Galleon Group, a hedge fund management firm based in New York City. In 2009, the FBI arrested him for insider trading, and in 2011 he was found guilty on all 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined over $150 million.
Bernie Madoff – Bail amount: $10 million
Bernie Madoff ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth over $18 billion. His criminal activity was discovered in 2008, during the financial collapse of banks that had made reckless bets on real estate. When investors started withdrawing money from Madoff’s fund, he ran out of money to pay them. He received a 150-year prison sentence.
