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Canadian investment guru Kevin O’Leary warned against the potential seizure of Donald Trump’s assets, saying this “happens in Venezuela, it doesn’t happen in New York.”
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O’Leary, of Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank television fame, commented on Trump’s situation on the Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria show earlier this week.
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The former president’s assets could be seized should he fail to pay the nine-figure fine in his civil fraud case. The 2024 Republican front-runner is on the hook for more than $354 million with post-judgment interest accruing at nearly $112,000 per day.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has vowed that if Trump fails to pay, the state will start seizing his assets.
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O’Leary, a businessman and chair of O’Leary Ventures, said the move by the New York court has developers wondering whether the fine penalty interest is proportionate to the act.
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“Remember, there is no money lost, there’s no victim here, so essentially just under half-a-billion-dollar fine for a situation where no monies were lost and the harmed party, supposedly the banks, were fully paid back,” O’Leary said, according to the New York Post. “We are wondering does this make sense, asking ourselves how long will it take for the appellate court to bring down to what a reasonable number might be? I have no idea what that is.”
New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and the defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”
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Trump’s legal team has appealed.
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O’Leary said investors are not putting any new money into projects in New York while the case is being litigated, adding he is “very concerned” about the next step of seizing assets.
“Capital comes to America because of the stability of the justice system,” he said. “This is not stable, in terms of many people’s eyes, domestically and internationally. Seizing assets happens in Venezuela, it doesn’t happen in New York. So this is a little scary.”
Powerhouse industries such as hydropower, commercial real estate and Al data will be affected in New York, O’Leary said, likely leading to a “quiet exodus of capital leaving New York.
“It’s going to North Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Montana, Tennessee. They have the same power and if you look at governors there, spending that much money you are in partnership with the government,” he said. “New York is no longer on that list.”
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