Attorney General Bonta Joins Amicus Brief Supporting State's Right to Seek Accountability for Fraud Among Private Businesses

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief in People of the State of New York v. Trump, emphasizing the important role state attorneys general play in policing economic fraud even when that fraud takes place in private commercial transactions between sophisticated parties. New York law authorizes the New York Attorney General to seek judicial remedies for repeated or persistent business fraud or illegality. In today’s amicus brief, the coalition urges the New York Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court’s ruling that the New York Attorney General had authority under this law to bring an action against Donald Trump and other defendants for fraud against sophisticated business entities that declined to pursue the legal remedies available to them.

“Fraud is fraud, and it should be treated as such,” said Attorney General Bonta. “There is no loophole that allows for corrupt business practices, and there is no technicality that prevents the state from upholding antifraud laws. As attorneys general, it is our job as the top law enforcement officers to root out any and all corruption in our states' economies. We urge the New York Court of Appeals to see this case for what it is and affirm the New York Attorney General’s authority to prosecute all fraudulent business dealings that occur in the state, regardless of the parties involved.” 

In 2022, the New York Attorney General sued Donald Trump and other defendants for engaging in financial fraud by inflating Trump’s statements of financial condition in submissions to lenders and others for the purpose of obtaining favorable business deals. The trial court held Trump and other defendants liable for fraud. This liability finding was upheld on appeal, and the matter is now on appeal before New York’s highest court.

In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition assert that:

• States have a sovereign interest in eradicating all kinds of fraud from their economies and retain extensive police powers to protect against fraud.
• Many states’ attorneys general have broad authority to enforce antifraud laws, even when fraud occurs between sophisticated private parties who decline to pursue their own remedies.
• States’ enforcement of antifraud laws in these contexts serves the public interest, protecting the interests of stakeholders who lack the practical ability to act, leveling the playing field for others who must compete with those who are willing to commit and benefit from fraud, and protecting the public from the damage that fraud can cause to competitive markets and to public safety.

In filing the brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Oregon, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.