Former President Trump has thus far been unable to secure the $454 million bond needed to prevent New York Attorney General Letitia James from beginning to seize properties from him after her civil fraud judgment against him. And the clock is ticking.
The Trump Organization has to put up the money by Monday, unless a court grants him a stay on the judgment pending the appeal.
Trump's lawyers said in a filing earlier this week that obtaining one is a "practical impossibility under the circumstances presented," claiming the Trump Organization has been turned down by roughly 30 surety companies.
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Alan Garten, Trump Organization general counsel, says most of the companies were either unable or unwilling to handle a bond of that size and that none were willing to accept property as collateral.
An appellate bondsman told FOX Business there’s also an element of reputational risk for companies weighing whether to tie themselves to Trump. Last week, bond insurer Chubb issued a statement to investors and employees after it received blowback for providing Trump a $91.6 million appeal bond in his defamation trial.
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Trump's attorneys argue in the fraud case filing that a "bond requirement of this enormous magnitude effectively requiring cash reserves approaching $1 billion … is unprecedented for a private company."
But James' office responded Wednesday by citing cases that had a larger bond and argued that the bond can be secured through multiple security groups.
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The state of New York is asking the court to deny Trump's motion in full.
FOX Business' Lydia Hu and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
